The Weapon
by Zexstrow
Summary: A special team is sent to investigate a local EMP in Seattle, but it all goes wrong. Who was this team, why were they sent, what happened to them? And who is this new person who appeared in Station Square? Rated T for violence and language, there will be romance, this is my first story, so go easy on me, I'm pretty new to the Sonic universe as well.
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

 **So its my intro into the story, getting everything set up with subtle clues and things for you guys to speculate on, hope you enjoy. I created the OCs and SEGA owns Sonic and his team.**

It was a dark windy night. The sidewalk had an icy sheen that reflected the city lights and holiday decorations. The streets were calm and quiet as the bustling day to day festivities of the city had died down and, save for the occasional car noise in the distance, no one was around to observe this particular nights activities. The old, out of maintenance street lights and the moon did little to illuminate this underdeveloped part of the city as a mid-sized electric armored van crept its way down the block making only a silent electric hum to mark its passing.

Inside the van the interior was dimly bathed in a red light, and seven men were seated in the back, four on the right, three on the left. They sat on two long metal benches that ran the length of the vans cargo area, their backs to the armor-reinforced walls. Between each of them were wall mounted racks, each carrying equipment assigned to each member of the team, including special helmets with a inbuilt HUD (heads up display), shorter compact guns varying from sub machine guns to bullpup style assault rifles, depending on the team members preference, grenades, belts with gun magazines, and some armor plating yet to be strapped onto the wearers black jumpsuit.

"Approaching the site of the EMP, gear up." The driver stated, turning to look back at the men. "Remember, in and out. Seek and destroy, leave no one alive, and no machinery intact."

"Yes sir." The team responded in unison, starting to slot in their body armor, load their guns, secure grenades and ammo belts, and slide on their helmets, double checking and syncing their HUDs with each other, getting full team vitals and read outs on their visors.

"Sound off!" The team captain stated, and one by one the seven responded, ending with the captain.

"Romeo!"

"Oscar!"

"Lima!"

"Mike!"

"Victor!"

"Echo!"

"Zulu!" He finished. He glanced up at the driver with an eerie stare that was emotionless, yet deadly serious. "We are ready to go sir."

The driver nodded, slowing to a stop about a block away from the building. He flicked a switch and the back door slid open. Silently and swiftly, with an almost mechanized precision, the team shouldered their guns and filed out of the van, barely making a sound as they melted into the shadows and moved down the street towards the building in question.

"Damn those guys are creepy." The passenger piped up, shivering slightly as he tried to catch a glimpse of the team.

"Forget about them." The driver grimly stated. "We've done our part of the mission, they're as good as dead, all we gotta do now is forget those fucking freaks ever existed. I sure hope the guy in the brass who started this stupid experiment gets what's coming to him."

"I just hope we don't get caught up in all these internal politics and get killed." The passenger silently responded as the van slowly pulled away from the operation site, where stage two was about to begin.

As the team reached the building Zulu took point and lead them to a side ally on the right side of the building where the surveillance was reported to be weakest. As he approached their entry point, a metal door, he noticed a slight movement on the roof of a building down the ally and across the street. With lightning reflexes and superhuman eyesight, enhanced by his HUD, he moved in a blur, shouldering, taking aim, and firing a single shot in stride, not slowing down until he knelt on one side of the door, analyzing the building's roof for more movement as his team approached, unfazed by his sudden engagement. They took their positions by the door and waited for Zulu's hand signal to breach the door.

Zulu, satisfied at seeing no more movement, made a fist and lightly punched the wall with a black gloved hand. Immediately, Mike walked up to the metal door and ripped it open, tearing the lock holding the door shut out of the wall with the door. It wasn't quiet, but it beat blowing the door open with explosives. Mike then quickly lunged inside followed by the rest of the team, Zulu taking up the rear, sweeping the ally one last time with an analytical gaze before moving inside.

Once inside they spread out, Zulu with Echo and Lima, Mike with Oscar, and Romeo with Victor. The predetermined squads moved to different parts of the building, with squad ZEL going directly toward the middle of the building where the EMP happened, squad MO heading toward the rear of the building, and squad RV moving to the front to form a pincer with MO, pushing anyone to the middle or left side where they would be rounded up and eliminated, as the left side was flush to another building and had no exits.

As ZEL made their way to the middle Zulu kept in touch with MO and RV via their helmets. So far, neither MO nor RV and heard or seen anyone. Zulu felt his enhanced senses giving him uneasy feelings that something was very wrong. He made a hand signal to his squad to be extra cautious and whispered to MO and RV to do the same. When his squad reached the center of the building they found a giant raised platform with an oval shaped ring suspended over it by chains. It had thousands of wires of varying thicknesses and colors running from it to many different machines throughout the room.

Zulu whispered to MO and RV for a report. Both had rendezvoused on the left side and had found no one. He ordered them to regroup with him in the center and told Echo and Lima to secure the room. When MO and RV arrived Zulu had Mike and Victor examine the machine while ordering Romeo and Oscar to join Echo and Lima on the perimeter check. Mike and Victor were very technically adept, as well as undergoing specific training for this mission, and quickly got the oval ring turned on. Once it turned on though, all hell broke loose. Zulu could barely keep up with what was happening. First a loud whirring happened as the oval formed some strange opaque field which filled the whole ring. Once the field reached the oval rim a massive EMP devastated their helmets and HUDs, shorting them out and leaving them without any tactical readouts or team vitals. Just as the EMP wave fried their HUDs, the ceiling seemed to explode and ropes snaked down as men rappelled into the building immediately opening fire on Zulu and his team with massive rifles. Zulu, disoriented slightly but with a steely resolve, barked orders for his team to take cover and return fire, not that they needed to be told that, but he knew that issuing orders in this situation showed his team he was still in control of the situation and was not panicking.

Zulu slid into cover beside Victor and Mike and ordered them to focus fire where Lima, Romeo, Oscar, and Echo were being overrun. They quickly adjusted and poured lead into a group of men who had landed by Echo and Lima, meanwhile Zulu focused on shooting down the men still rappelling into the building, causing men to start raining from the sky, but they kept coming, and worse, they were using the ground entrances as well. The sudden influx of hostiles would have broken any normal teams moral, but Zulu and his team weren't normal, and dying wasn't something they were trained to be afraid of.

Lima was the first to go down. Zulu saw from across the room as Lima was charged while reloading and torn apart by the massive rifles the enemy carried. He felt a prick of fire in his head, an emotion, struggling to get free of his sub consciousness, but was quickly swallowed up by a cool liquid like feeling. Instead of being able to focus on Lima's death, he could only focus on the weapons the men were using when they gunned down Lima. Zulu analyzed that they were of an extremely large caliber, firing a massive solid flat slug meant to pulverize whatever it hit and render any type of medical treatment or natural healing useless.

Echo and Romeo went down next as the enemy stopped rappelling in and stormed in through the ground level entrances, storming to the center of the building and overrunning their defensive ring. Zulu screamed for everyone to get to the raised platform and get prone. He leaped up there first and laid underneath the oval ring assuring himself it was high enough to give them ample cover before having everyone else break cover to join him. He covered their movement as best he could but Oscar was hit in the back and he went down hard. Zulu again felt the fire in his head, getting stronger as he watched his men die. He heard a wet crackly explosion next to him and blood and brain matter splattered his face. He glanced over at Mike, only to see his head was what exploded.

Zulu growled, got up into a kneeling position, the fire of raw anger and frustration evaporating the cool liquid feeling in his head. He screamed a loud, long sound of anguish as he sprayed the room, pivoting to the left and shooting down everyone in his crosshair. His spray of bullets penetrated the machines and consoles lining the room, causing an alarm to sound and the oval ring began to hum louder and louder with an increasing pitch. He heard a cry of pain and saw Victor roll off of the platform from a slug impact. When Zulu turned to face forward his world went slow as his heightened instincts kicked in.

His eyes caught sight of a slug headed for his chest, causing his mind to jump to inhuman processing levels of speed and react. He released all the air in his lungs, deflating them to reduce the risk of the sternum and ribs puncturing them when the slug hit. He didn't have time to turn sideways to try and get away with a glancing hit, so he collapsed/threw himself backwards as the slug hit, his backward momentum softening the impact considerably as he went with the impact instead of resisting it. Zulu was flung backward into the oval, disappearing from sight as the oval whined and finally caused a meltdown, the power retention systems in the building failing catastrophically, the overload of power from the ring causing the building to explode.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 1**

 **So I wrote this three times. I wanted a good interaction between the characters without it seeming to childish. This is the version I settled on. Please read and review. I would love any and all feed back. Thank you for reading!**

An alarm sounded, jolting Tails awake as he looked toward the wailing machine confused. He quickly got up, rubbing his tired eyes and stumbled over to see what caused the alarm. Tails started hitting buttons and typing vigorously as he looked at the read out scrolling down the machines screen.

"What?" He gasped. "An EMP just happened in the city?" Tails quickly typed in a command and the screen lit up with a map of Station Square, a blip resonating from the East District. He rushed over to a console and started entering in the data from the previous machines read out. He cross referenced the information with everything else he had on EMP activity.

He got a match with his information on Blaze and Silver's portal phenomena he gathered when they traveled here from their dimension. Feeling excited he rushed back to the machine to look at where the blip was exactly on the map, but it was gone, the portal had closed. Tails sighed and started walking back to his bed, debating on waiting till morning to let everyone know. A thought went through his head, and he muttered to himself.

"If I was able to detect the EMP, could someone else have gotten a reading from it as well?" He paused, his mind running to Eggman. He darted for his phone, knowing every second was vital.

Eggman analyzed the display in front of him as he stared at the part of the city where the blip had shown up.

"An alleyway?" He grumbled. "Strange place for a portal to appear." He stroked his mustache and glanced at his digital clock. It displayed the time 3:17am. "Ugh, and so early, could have the robots go and investigate, but I know Sonic and his team will be snooping around there too. That fox boy would certainly have detected an EMP that large." He continued to himself. "I'll just have to beat them too it, maybe something I could use came through it." He chuckled greedily, rubbing his hands together as he decided his plan and strode out of the room, heading for his hovercraft.

Zulu growled as he regained consciousness. He looked around for any sign of danger before assessing himself. Satisfied no hostiles were around and noting where he was, which seemed to be a small alleyway, he began to check his body. He moved his toes and fingers, checking for paralysis, and checked his neck with his fingers to see if it was broken. After confirming that he could move without further damaging himself he looked down at his chest where he had been hit.

His chest plate had a massive dent in the center. He slid his hand underneath only to feel intense pain. He gritted his teeth and endured it as he gently rubbed his chest with his hand. He assessed that his sternum was caved in and his ribs were all sorts of screwed up. Luckily, his lungs made it, as he could breathe without any pain from his lungs, his heart was intact, thanks to his augmentations, and the slug never made it through the armor to penetrate. Growling in pain, he carefully got up into a sitting position and checked his equipment. He still had his sidearm, a large handgun, strapped to his thigh and a combat knife sheathed on his belt. Breathing was hard, as his collapsed rib cage didn't give his lungs much room to expand. It was as he was struggling to his feet he heard a humming in the distance and it was approaching fast.

Sonic flew down the street toward where Tails said the EMP happened. Tails flew overhead in his plane with Amy, Blaze, Silver, and Knuckles, who couldn't keep up with him. Suddenly, in the distance, gunfire erupted.

"Woah!" Sonic exclaimed, and sped up. Tails gunned the plane in close pursuit, noticing Eggman's hovercraft in the distance.

Zulu ducked behind a dumpster, reloading his handgun. He ignored the strange fat mans frustrated ravings and focused on finding a way out of the alley. Moving as little as possible he peeked out and fired, causing the man to veer upwards. Seeing his chance, Zulu lunged forward, running underneath the weird machine and out of the alley. Darting left, he saw a strange plane in the air and what appeared to be a hedgehog running at him.

He slowed to a stop and raised his gun to fire when the fat man emerged from the alley and started talking.

"Well well, Sonic and his gang, arriving as expected I see." The weird man spoke, apparently to the new arrivals, as more disembarked from the plane. Zulu put his back to the wall, resting, but keeping both the group of animals and the fat man in his eyesight. His mind ran scenarios about how this would play out. Were they allies? Rival groups? As he thought about it two more animals showed up.

"Hey it's a party!" The new arrival spoke. Zulu noticed it was a bat, and it had spoken. He ignored his minds confusion, he had to remain vigilant.

"Hey Rogue, hey Shadow!" The hedgehog that had been running greeted them. "You here to join in on the Eggman butt kicking too?"

"Excuse me, I will be the one doing the butt kicking Sonic!" The fat man replied.

"Pff, we'd like to see you try Egghead!" A large echidna piped in. Zulu noted he had large fists with spikes, and tactically marked him as a close quarter's fighter.

"Bring it on you losers!" Taunted Eggman.

Zulu decided now was his time to move. He quickly raised his gun and fired at the fat man, distracting him. The animals attacked him in unison, taking full advantage of Zulu's attack. Zulu sprinted down the sidewalk behind Eggman, knowing to stay and fight so many would be suicide. However, as he ran a black shadow appeared in front of him and he stopped, seeing it was the hedgehog who arrived with the bat. Zulu raised his gun, but the hedgehog was quicker, kicking it out of his hands.

Zulu quickly looked over his opponent, seeing this hedgehog was highly trained. He could tell from the way the animal stood, its balance, subtle muscle movements, that he was going to have a rough fight. He couldn't underestimate the animal before him. In a blur Zulu lunged forward with a right jab, his superhuman speed and strength of the impact catching the hedgehog off guard and spinning him back. Zulu noticed how quickly the animal recovered though, too fast for him to follow up, and prepared for anything.

Shadow was impressed. He observed the human before him. He was very tall, probably as tall as Eggman, but his build was much different, for he was skinny, but Shadow could see the well trained muscles hidden along his arms, chest, and legs, making it easy to underestimate this human's strength. His punch was fast and extremely agile, with a quick recovery back to a guard stance. What impressed Shadow most though was he could see this human had suffered a fatal injury and was still fighting. He gave the human an approving nod, and in a blur not even Zulu could react too, kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Zulu saw the nod of respect and knew that the hedgehog was going to put him out of his misery. He felt himself falling and everything went black. He wondered if he would see his team again.

"You guys said you found him fighting Eggman?" Vanilla asked the team incredulously. She and Cream were busy tending to the man on the table before them, who had somehow survived a crippling blow to the chest. They had been working on him since the team called them 5 hours ago, as Vanilla was a reputable nurse and was the go to for the team with any injuries. Vanilla couldn't believe the damage he had taken and how much pain he must have been in.

"Sure did!" Sonic chimed in.

"He even landed a punch on me before I knocked him out." Shadow added, and everyone turned to stare in awe at the man on the table.

"Well whatever he's done, there is something off about him, it's just not possible to endure that much." Vanilla stated. "I found some remnants of a blue liquid in his chest cavity, and his lungs weren't damaged at all, which doesn't make any sense considering the injury."

"Will he recover?" Amy asked.

"From my observations, yes. Which also disturbs me. His body is healing itself way faster than normal. I pricked his finger five minutes ago as a test and there is no sign of the cut now."

"What a man." Rogue almost purred.

"So is he like some super human?" Knuckles questioned.

"Seems like it to me, we just have to be patient until he recovers to ask questions." Vanilla finished.

Vanilla and Cream stood by Zulu's bedside checking his temperature and bandages as the group slowly left the room. Tails was analyzing the blue liquid Vanilla had found when Shadow joined him.

"Oh, hey Shadow, need something?" Tails asked as he examined the blue sample under a microscope.

"Maybe." Shadow replied. "I think I know what that is."

"What? Really?" Tails looked up at Shadow, confused. "But how, it's from that man's dimension."

"Trust me, I've seen it before, at GUN, at least if that is what I think it is, and if I'm right, there could be a big problem." Shadow growled, turning and leaving the room as Tails thought about what he said, slowly realizing what this could mean.

Zulu was surrounded by darkness. Faintly he could hear echoes. He heard gunfire and screaming. He snarled as a familiar cold wet feeling washed into his head. He wanted to fight it, but he was too weak, they were going to use him again.

"I will not be your tool." He growled, slowly regaining feeling in his arms and legs as his mind reacted to the threat and the screams and gunfire faded away. He heard a soft sound somewhere far off and the cold feeling went away.

"You can't use me anymore!" He yelled as the sounds slowly faded into mumbling voices. The darkness grew lighter and Zulu felt like he was freeing himself of their awful influence. Zulu had to break free and wake up, they couldn't keep him sedated. He would no longer be their slave, he struggled and thrashed, hearing the voices getting urgent and the feeling the cold return to take over his mind.

"Cream, go get the others! Hurry!" Vanilla ordered as she struggled to keep the big human down. Cream rushed out calling for the others. Vanilla wasn't sure what had happened, but something must have set him off. Cream returned with the others as Vanilla barely managed to keep the writhing, snarling man on the table. Quickly, Sonic and Knuckles leapt onto the table to restrain his arms and legs, only to be thrown off. Vanilla jumped back, dropping the cool, wet rag she had been wiping his forehead with, and immediately he stopped thrashing. Suddenly his eyes ripped open and he bolted upright. He sat there breathing hard and sweating profusely before slowly turning to face them.

Zulu stared at the animals. None of them moved save for a small bunny who hid behind the bigger one. He felt something around his chest and glanced down to find himself bandaged. He also noticed that he was still wearing his black jumpsuit leggings, but his knife wasn't in its sheath. He looked back over at the animals, recognizing most of them. His eyes quickly found the black one who he assumed brought him here. Zulu glanced around to find he was in room that looked like a thrown together medical area, spying his knife on a nearby table with his gun, which Shadow had recovered after knocking him out. He looked once more over at them intently, seeing none of them were armed. He relaxed slightly.

"Friend or foe?" He stated simply. He had never interacted with people outside of a military setting, and his mind was busy comprehending the vast amount of events that had happened recently. They looked a bit confused by his question but the blue hedgehog stepped forward to answer.

"Well I'd say we are a pretty friendly group." He said, chuckling. Zulu just stared blankly at him. He remembered them talking before when he first encountered them, but it was still unbelievable to him. Zulu gave the blue hedgehog a cautious nod.

"So, who are you?" Zulu asked.

"Well I'm Sonic the Hedgehog." The blue hog replied. One by one the rest stepped forward to introduce themselves.

"I'm Amy Rose." Chirped the pink hedgehog happily.

"Uh, I'm Knuckles." The big echidna stated matter-o-factly.

"I'm Vanilla." Greeted the taller rabbit politely. "And behind me is my daughter Cream. We patched you up and fixed your ribs."

"Hey handsome, I'm Rogue." A provocative bat purred. "Dark and broody over there is Shadow." She pointed back at the black hedgehog he had fought.

"I'm Silver, and this is Blaze." A silver hedgehog said, introducing the cat next to him as well. "We got here through a portal just like you did, so maybe we can help you out." The cat finished.

"And I'm Tails!" a short fox said excitedly, whom Zulu recognized as the one who flew the plane and now noticed had two tails.

Zulu looked the whole group over and nodded.

"My military designation is Zulu." He stated officially. They looked puzzled except for the one named Shadow, who eyed him curiously.

"Military designation?" Sonic asked.

"Yes." Zulu replied, hiding his pain as he continued. "My team and I had no names, just designations. I was the team captain."

"So your team has cool code names? Awesome! I want a code name!" Knuckles declared.

"In your dreams knuckie boy." The bat Rogue teased.

Zulu ignored their banter and stared blankly at the floor. The mention of his former teammates bringing back memories of their false mission. Anger began boiling up inside of him. He clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling a slight burn in his eyes. Shadow quietly observed Zulu, noticing his body language change as everyone joked about team code names.

"Zulu, what happened to your team?" Shadow asked. Everyone paused and turned to Zulu for his response, curious about where the rest of his team was. Zulu stared at Shadow, and Shadow could see the pain and anguish in his eyes as he answered.

"We were sent to investigate an EMP, but we were set up." Zulu mumbled, barely audible. "When we reached the source, we were ambushed." He continued, his pain evident to everyone in the room. "We were attacked by waves of men with specialized guns designed to take down my team." Zulu clenched his fists in anger, remembering when Lima was shredded by the large caliber slugs. "We were slaughtered. I was the only one left when I took a shot to the chest and was flung into the portal." Zulu finished. A single tear trailed down his cheek. The room was dead quiet. No one knew what to say. Rarely ever did they hear of such an awful event. Amy was crying onto Sonic's shoulder, Vanilla was comforting Cream, Knuckles was staring at the floor, Blaze and Silver looked grim, Tails looked devastated, and Rogue was exchanging a glance with Shadow, knowing he knew more than he was letting on.

Zulu stared down at his hands remembering the firefight. Flashbacks came to his mind of the moments when each of his teammates went down. He didn't notice Cream hop up beside him as he muttered their designations to himself. Only when he felt a warm soft touch did he notice Cream was hugging his arm. He gently patted her head and rubbed around her ears. Vanilla was the only one that saw his smile, for it was quickly replaced by a look of determination as Zulu got up, and turned to face Shadow as he approached.

"I have something I want to talk to you about." Shadow said quietly. Zulu only nodded.

"Tails, Zulu and I would like to discuss something with you. I'd like to discuss it in private until I'm absolutely sure." With that, Shadow lead Tails and Zulu to the room where the blue liquid was being tested.

"So Zulu, Vanilla found some remnants of this stuff in your body, I'd like you to tell me what it is." Shadow demanded. Zulu stared at him darkly before responding.

"They are combat drugs designed for the program I was a part of, but you already knew that didn't you." Zulu replied as Tails' eyes grew wide.

"Then my suspicions are confirmed." Declared Shadow, glancing at the liquid. "Somehow, the government you were a part of and GUN have been in touch, and these combat drugs seem to be the result of their collaboration, and the reason for some internal falling out."

"Let's go inform the others." Tails said excitedly.

As they went to share their findings, Shadow was deep in thought. He felt that history was repeating itself through Zulu and his team, for something similar had happened to Shadow a long time ago. If his team had been killed off for the same reason Shadow had been hunted, the situation could escalate quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 2**

 **Well, here's chapter two. More backstory and detail for you guys to chew on. Sorry there hasn't been much of Sonic and his team. There's a lot to cover and I don't want you guys getting lost as many different things are happening early on. Also if you're here for the romance it'll be a couple chapters before we get there, as it comes secondary in this story. For those who have been sticking with me this far, I really appreciate you giving my story a chance. Please review, your feedback is a great help to making my story better.**

Commander Jarving sat in his situation room at the head of a large rectangular table, with five other members of his research team, and four of his trusted advisors. Jarving was the ranking officer at this government site in Seattle, Washington located by the water. In charge of this particular site, which was a short distance from his previous secret testing lab for the not so approved of W.E.A.P.O.N. Program, he is one of 50 commanders operating in the U.S, one per state.

W.E.A.P.O.N. stands for Weaponized Elite Augmented Personnel Operating Naively. The program, at the start, was known of and not popular among the leaders in the IA, the original idea being the research and development of super soldiers, and its operations and research were kept top secret, for the program was supposed to have been shut down after a majority vote against it from the IA Council of Representatives, their reasoning being super soldiers weren't needed and the research and testing the subjects would endure would be horribly unethical. Unfortunately, someone had found out the project was still going, which had resulted in last night's raid on his lab. Jarving had watched the surveillance footage of his lab from the complex and wondered, as he drummed his fingers agitatedly on the table, who in the IA was after him and his research.

The IA, or International Alliance, had formed after the conclusion of the Extremist Wars, which ended in 2025, a decade prior to now. The war had lasted six years, starting in 2019 on July 7th, known as Day 77, when global organized terrorist attacks broke out as Islamic Extremists lashed out violently against all those they saw as infidels. Refugees fled cities as military forces assembled to suppress the terrorists and take back control.

Unfortunately, the refugees weren't always welcomed. In the U.S, when the government announced it was offering a safe haven to any who were fleeing the fighting, despite having suffered terrorist attacks as well, America First extremists revolted, opting for self-preservation instead of global cooperation, starting a civil war and hunting down any foreign refugees, killing or capturing them. Across the globe nations were decimated as Nationalists, who believed in their countries self-preservation over helping out those in need, fought Internationalists, who believed the only way to get through the crisis was to have everyone unite and provide any help they could, and militaries splintered as personnel fought an internal battle of duty to their country, or service to those commanded them.

The first countries to start what was to become the International Alliance were Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia in 2021, forming what they called PIA, the Pacific Islands Alliance, since they were all close enough to provide military support to one another, and were isolated from the larger wars on the continents. In 2020, Europe had banded together, along with Greenland and Iceland, but its militaries were too busy fighting terrorists within its borders and protecting the refugees, fleeing from the South and the East, from Nationalists to offer any military support to other countries at that time.

In late 2021 PIA started reaching out to nearby countries, offering aid and support to help take back government control and stabilize local military defenses. Then, in 2022, PIA made contact, through their new Russian allies, with the European Alliance and the tide of the global conflict turned in favor of the Internationalists, as the growing alliance began a massive governmental and military cooperative campaign, rallying Internationalist supporters and quickly crushing Nationalist movements.

The war went on as country by country, the Internationalists quelled and suppressed the Nationalists, using their selfishness to their advantage, as the Nationalists never tried to form any alliances with neighboring countries, having only their countries self-preservation in mind. The United States was one of the last to join the global alliance as its political control went back and forth from Nationalist to Internationalist leaders. Then, in the wee hours of the morning on October 17th, 2024, an assassin shot and killed three Nationalist politicians and the current president, who had taken control when the initial Nationalist rebellion forced the previous president out of office, ending the power struggle and allowing Internationalists to retake government control and join the ever growing earth wide alliance.

The wars officially ended on August 8th, 2025 when the current global leaders assembled together in Tokyo, Japan and formed a council. The council made an International Constitution, and formed a worldwide singular government they called the International Alliance. The constitution they wrote and collaborated on were rules that everyone must abide by, and was the foundation that they used to rebuild their respective countries into the massive interconnected global community that the IA is today.

However, within this newly formed global government, as interconnected as everything was, secrets were easily kept, and even though the global leaders who formed the council were all on the same page, those they commanded were not always so truthful. As the militaries of the world joined into a single force, sharing technology and information to better develop the world, some kept certain projects to themselves, plotting in secret, hoping to one day get ahead of everyone else and take control of the IA.

Tanner Jarving was originally one of those people, however recent events had changed him. He had first proposed the idea of a super soldier project to the council five years ago in 2030, only to have it rejected for the inhumane tests and experiments that would have to be done to potential recruits. One of his superiors, however, liked his idea and told him he would secretly fund the program and provide him with some test subjects.

Jarving was given the promotion to commander so he had enough authority to deny disclosing information about what he was up to too pretty much anyone who questioned him, and, as one of 50 commanders in the States, pretty much have free reign to do as he pleased. His superior set him up in an IA government complex in Seattle, Washington, where he filled the recently made vacant commander position, and was given a separate warehouse, located downtown from the complex, to use for his research lab, where he had access to state of the art technology as well as the isolated wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula, a short helicopter ride away, providing a perfect outdoor training ground away from the prying eyes of the city.

Shortly after Jarving had set up shop, he asked his superior about getting some test subjects to begin his research. His superior brought him to a prison in Utah where people were being kept for crimes committed during the wars. He brought Jarving to a secret underground part of the prison where there was a single cell. Inside the cell was a single man of average height, just shy of six feet. He was malnourished and skinny, yet Jarving could see well defined muscles that showed hidden strength. When he approached the cell, the man slowly looked up and stared at him. Jarving saw the eyes of a killer and felt a shiver go down his spine. The prisoner's eyes were dark brown, almost black, with no warmth, but cold and calculating. He glanced at his superior and nodded his approval.

"I'll take him. What is he in here for?" Jarving asked as an afterthought. His superior responded with a chuckle.

"That man is the assassin who killed those Nationalist politicians near the end of the war."

Within a week the prisoner was transported to Jarving's warehouse. Rigorous training began and over the course of a year the prisoner was worked up to a peak of physical conditioning. At this point the project stalled as Jarving tried and failed with many attempts at further pushing his subject's abilities to new limits. Then, his superior contacted him saying he had a drug he was sending him. When Jarving asked about it he was brushed off and told to focus on his research.

A few weeks later a shipment arrived from Japan. As Jarving examined the strange blue liquid he was sent in his lab he tested it with different applications. He used mice, not wanting to possibly damage his main subject and have to start over, and found direct injection into the blood stream gave the mice a strange demeanor. Intrigued, he risked giving a small dose to his primary subject. He made the man do his normal physical training activities and did tests. As Jarving looked over the results he noticed that the drug affected the man's brain, not so much his body. He noticed his brain activity was minute, the parts controlling emotional responses and rational thinking practically inactive, essentially making the man a manipulatable, emotionless shell. It was this that gave him an idea for his name. He was an empty shell, nothing, zero. He thought of the military alphabet, and it hit him. He approached his subject and got his attention.

"You will do exactly as I say, for you are incapable, empty, worthless, and nothing, understood?" He ordered.

"Yes." Responded the man blankly.

"You will refer to your superiors, which is everyone, as sir."

"Yes, sir."

"Finally, you will respond only to your military designation."

"What is my designation, sir?"

"Zulu."

Jarving continued working and analyzing the effects of the drug, noting it wore off after approximately 12 hours, which returned Zulu's individuality back to him. Jarving tried but never succeeded in making the effects last longer, as Zulu's peak physic and health had his immune system purge the drug from his blood stream quicker each dosage. He left the drug as it was and began focusing on improving Zulu.

After another year, he had made a process to reinforce Zulu's body making it all but impervious to harm. He dosed Zulu with the drug and secured him to a special table surrounded by needles and tubes of various substances. The experiment began, lasting for eight hours. Jarving had left after 30 minutes, for Zulu's screams of pain as the drugs that were injected into him augmented his bone structure and organs were, oddly, too much for him to bear.

Jarving presented Zulu, who had grown to be around seven feet tall during the augmentation, to his superior, who was very impressed and supplied him with six more ex-convicts for the program. What neither knew was that someone had gotten wind of what they were up to and wasn't happy about the project still happening. Plans were made for sabotage as Jarving pressed on with his research, continuing to augment his subjects further until he had made the perfect soldiers, or weapons, as his superior liked to refer to the men, which sparked the name for the program.

Jarving's superior was on his way back to the States after visiting with his contact in Japan when his plane went down. It was covered up and blamed on an unfortunate engine failure, and the fact that he was on the plane remained unknown to all but those who had caused the accident. He had been meeting with his contact about transporting a device they had made state-side and had arranged for it to be shipped to Seattle to make research for his project easier, as the machine would provide Jarving direct access to any "assistance" he may need.

A spy was set up to act as Jarving's superior and he wasn't told of the shipment for him. The ship arrived in Seattle and its cargo was stolen, taken to an abandoned warehouse where it was studied and, after a lot of trouble, made operational, where its true purpose was discovered. Meanwhile, Jarving had, over the course of a year and a half, put Zulu and his team through four more augmenting processes and told who he thought was his superior that the W.E.A.P.O.N. Program was complete.

A plan was made to eliminate the team and destroy the machine in one go, luring the soldiers to the portal and causing a meltdown, as well as sending a strike team into Jarving's lab to kill him and seize all information on the program. Six months later, Jarving was contacted by his superior telling him to expect some men who were to take his team to investigate a strange occurrence in the city. Jarving assembled Zulu and his team, gave them their special gear he developed, administered the combat drugs, and sent them on their way, feeling a sense of pride for his team.

Shortly afterward, he got a phone call from Japan. It was his superior's Japanese contact, who was asking if he had heard anything from his superior about the shipment that was sent, because he was supposed to confirm when he got the shipment. Jarving realized something was very wrong as he told the contact that his superior had never mentioned a shipment. He ended the call and tried contacting his superior, but got no answer.

Quickly, he and his research team gathered as much equipment as they could, loading it all into three large trucks parked outside, sent all projects files to a secure backup server he had set up and fled the lab, heading for the safety of the IA complex. Half an hour later a massive explosion rocked the city. Outside his lab armored vans pulled up and unloaded three squads of armed men who rushed into the lab, only to find it empty.

Jarving looked around the room at his researchers and advisors. They all looked exhausted and nervous. He sighed, feeling concerned about Zulu and his team. He had heard the explosion and knew it involved the mission they were taken on.

"Sir." One of his advisors motioned to him. "Got a call from a man in Japan, says it's urgent."

"Put him on speaker." Jarving replied hurriedly.

"Hello? Commander Jarving?" crackled the speaker.

"Speaking."

"Ah, very good. Listen, I wanted to inform you that we are working on a second machine. Your superior wanted a failsafe in case something happened to the first."

"What does this machine do exactly?" Jarving asked.

"The machine started as a way of quick transportation. Back in the wars, the PIA were trying to develop a method of being able to quickly transport troops to the other islands. They weren't successful, and the project got scrapped. Around five years ago, I was in charge of cataloging old information from the wars into the Japanese IA database for historical references. I came across a few files detailing the machine and brought them before the council. Unfortunately they weren't interested and turned me down. However your superior got in touch and agreed to fund a project to create the machine. Two years later we were testing our prototype. When we turned it on it created a portal, as well as sending out a massive EMP."

"A portal? You said a portal?" Jarving asked skeptically.

"Yes, a portal, we sent someone in and they returned saying they had appeared in a building and were greeted by what looked like military personnel, but didn't wear any recognizable uniform."

"So they had a portal too?"

"Correct, our test subject also noted they had some very high tech machinery. When he returned I informed your superior, who rushed here as soon as possible. He himself went through the portal and was gone for quite a while, returning a couple hours later with a blue vial which he told me to study and replicate if I could. I asked what he had done over there he ignored me and told me to tell no one of what we had discovered. The next time him and I spoke he said to send the liquid to you."

"Ugh." Jarving shook his head, his brain was throbbing trying to comprehend all this. "Ok, well, let me know when you finish with your second portal." Jarving said, ending the call. He slowly glanced around at everyone in the room. "I'm sure I don't need to say this but nothing we just heard leaves this room, understood?"

"Yes sir!" his team and advisors all responded.

"Good, now I really need a drink. I want you guys to get as much information on that explosion as you can. I want to know what happened to my boys by tomorrow morning. Clear?"

"Sir!" They all stood up and quickly left the room.

"Damnit Zulu." Muttered Jarving. "You and your team better be ok."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 3**

 **Hey there guys, thanks for sticking with me this far. Got some cute interactions in this chapter. I'm starting to develop the bonds between everyone as well as start setting everything in motion. And as always, feel free to review and give me your feedback. I appreciate any inputs and advice you guys can offer me. Thank you for reading.**

Shadow, Tails, and Zulu had explained to the others what they had discovered, with Zulu also explaining that he was a augmented super soldier which was why he was still alive. No one quite knew what to think. Shadow also explained how he had come across the drug in the GUN research and development facility while there getting knew equipment, as well as his early suspicions when he and Rogue were immediately called and dispatched when the portal appeared, stating that it had seemed to him they were to prepared for it to happen.

"So GUN was why you guys showed up last night." Confirmed Sonic, getting a nod from both Rogue and Shadow.

"Yeah, they gave us a rushed briefing with a little too much intel for a surprise occurrence." Rogue added.

"Normally I wouldn't have cared less and turned him over to GUN." Stated Shadow. "But after hearing his story, it's a little too similar to mine, plus, the fact that he had the same drugs in his system as what I saw in GUN has made me cautious. Turning him over won't get us answers, and I don't trust GUN as is." He finished.

"Don't forget Shadow, he's quite a hunk." Rogue teased, winking at Zulu, who stared back confused.

"Anyways." Shadow said, ignoring her. "For now, GUN believes Rogue and I are tracking down whatever came out of the portal, so we have a bit of time before they get suspicious, although we will still have to be careful." He glared around the room before his gaze landed on Zulu. "I don't think I really have to tell you to not venture outside unless absolutely necessary?"

"From what you've said about GUN, and you're lack of trust with them, I'm very familiar with organizations like them. They aren't trusting either and like to cover all their bases, chances are they have people snooping around everywhere looking for anything out of place, despite having their best agents in the field. They would spot me instantly."

"Correct, least I don't have to worry about you doing anything stupid." Shadow finished. He looked over at Rogue. "Think you can sneak into GUN tonight and dig up any dirt on what they know?"

"Oh Shads please, course I can." She replied confidently.

"Good. I'm going to go "look around" for our visitor from the portal." Shadow said, leaving the room, Rogue nodding and following him out, giving a small wave to everyone and blowing a kiss at Zulu, causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"She's really trying to get your attention Zulu." Chuckled Sonic, noticing Zulu's confused look. Knuckles just grumbled something incoherent.

"My attention for what?" Zulu asked, genuinely confused, having never drawn any female attention to himself.

"Well." Interrupted Vanilla. "I'm going to go shopping for groceries, who wants to come?" Amy, Blaze, and Cream went with her while the boys stayed home. After they left, Tails went to his lab and Zulu approached Sonic, Silver, and Knuckles.

"So where do you guys train? Do you spar with each other or have equipment?" He asked.

"Well we mainly spar with each other or get practice fighting Eggman." Replied Sonic.

"Ah, well I want to train a bit, sitting and healing doesn't suit me." Zulu said with an edge of challenge to his voice.

"Oh yeah?" Smirked Knuckles, still slightly irritated about how Rogue was behaving towards Zulu. "Why don't we go and train then." He stated, leading them toward Tails' plane hangar where there was plenty of room. Sonic and Silver stood by the wall to watch as Knuckles and Zulu stood in the center, staring each other down.

"I won't go easy on you dude. Better get ready!" Challenged Knuckles. Zulu didn't reply, instead crouching slightly, relaxing his body and analyzing Knuckles, noticing his stance and weight distribution, anticipating a lunge with a four punch flurry, leading with the right fist. As expected, Knuckles lunged forward in a blur, extending his right arm and leaning into the punch.

Zulu stepped forward and to his left, deftly grabbing Knuckles' right wrist with his right hand, pulling down and using Knuckles' forward momentum to carry him into a hard right knee as Zulu brought his his knee up, smashing it into Knuckles' stomach, doubling him over. Zulu swiftly followed up by bringing his left arm over and slamming his elbow down onto the back of Knuckles head, sending him brutally hard to the ground. The exchange was over in seconds, with Knuckles lying unconscious at Zulu's feet.

Sonic and Silvers jaws fell to the floor, not expecting an injured Zulu to hit, let alone dispatch, Knuckles so easily. Zulu noticed their looks and laughed.

"He doesn't plan ahead, he just punches. Now who's next?" He challenged, with Sonic stepping forward and Silver levitating Knuckles out of the way.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot, but I'll tell you now, I'm a lot faster than Knuckles, and I do a bit more thinking." He chuckled. Zulu nodded, breathing deep, crouching low, and triggered his brain's adrenaline response manually, as his mind almost instantly developed a strategy against an opponent with overwhelming speed. Sonic disappeared, and the fight was on.

Zulu saw the hedgehog fly to his right, probably trying to circle him and hit from behind. He had worked out that Sonic was fast enough to react to anything he did, and would respond just as fast. Zulu's strategy was to manipulate Sonic's reactions by doing a lot of feint responses, committing just enough to seem like a counter to make Sonic attack elsewhere. He knew there were flaws in his strategy, but no strategy was perfect. He was also aware that he needed to finish this within a few exchanges or Sonic would catch on.

As Zulu's heightened processing and reflexes caught Sonic shoot to the right, he twisted back to his right and twitched his right arm down, immediately throwing up his left arm to block his head, where he felt a strong impact. Sonic had seen him move down to his right and instead aimed a left kick at Zulu's head, only to have Zulu block there as well. Zulu, in the split second he had caused Sonic to stop moving from the impact and shock that he had blocked it, pivoted back to his right, swinging his right elbow savagely into the side of Sonic's head, sending him flying into the wall, sprinting after him the moment Sonic's feet left the ground. Sonic struggled to his feet only to be immediately drop kicked through the wall and into Tails' yard. Zulu stood in the hanger waiting patiently, only to suddenly feel a massive kick to the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ha, wow you're good, but don't get cocky!" Sonic said, stepping back as Zulu got up.

"My mistake, I couldn't keep track of you when you were outside." Responded Zulu, brushing himself off. At this time the girls arrived back, but Silver was the only one who noticed. Zulu went on the offensive, dashing toward Sonic and catching off guard, for he didn't expect such agility from the seven foot man. Zulu attempted to plant his right knee into Sonic's face, and when Sonic dodged to the left, raising his left foot to kick in response, he instead rolled to the right in a flash, avoiding a hard left elbow that almost smashed him into the ground.

Sonic spun on the ground and kicked Zulu behind his right knee, following up by pivoting and kicking Zulu square in the back, throwing him forward, dashing after him. Zulu rolled when he hit the ground and stayed crouched, kicking back with his right leg as he sensed Sonic shoot towards him. Sonic ran face first into his foot and was thrown back, but landed on his feet. Zulu pulled off his black jumpsuit shirt and wiped the sweat off his face. Sonic panted as he watched Zulu toss the shirt aside and prepared for his next move.

Zulu started slowly stepping forward, maintaining a strong guard stance. Sonic shot forward and began attacking him from random directions, unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches, but shockingly, none got through. Sonic jumped back, breathing hard, noticing Zulu wasn't even slightly tired, even though he was sweating. Zulu had anticipated Sonic would try overwhelming him with his speed, so he had set up his guard to force Sonic to only be able to attack certain areas. He was in control, and could see Sonic getting slightly frustrated. As he was about to attack, they were interrupted.

"Wow!" Exclaimed Amy. "Did you really block every one of Sonic's attacks there?" Sonic and Zulu, finally noticing the girls had gotten back from shopping and were watching them, relaxed.

"Barely, if Sonic wasn't holding back slightly he could have hit me quite a few times." Zulu answered her.

"How'd you know I was holding back?"

"Shadow knocked me out with a blow I never saw, and I'm aware you two are very similar in your capabilities." Zulu flexed his muscles and looked himself over. "Ah, I needed that, I'm feeling loads better."

"That was an awesome match, you'll have to teach me how you fight." Sonic gave him an approving nod. "Man I'm hungry, what's for lunch guys?"

"We are going to make sandwiches, salad, and soup." Replied Vanilla, who headed for the kitchen with Sonic, Knuckles, who had woken up, and Silver. As Blaze and Amy followed, they saw Cream bringing Zulu his shirt.

"Aww!" Amy squealed silently.

"I think someone has a crush, look, she's blushing." Whispered Blaze.

"Well how could she not be, look at him." Amy giggled.

"Tell me about it, if Rogue were here we'd need a leash!" Joked Blaze as they left the hangar.

"H...Here is your shirt, Z…Zulu." Cream said shyly, trying to hide her blush from the tall, shirtless man before her.

"Oh, thank you Cream." Zulu said, smiling as he sat on the floor and took his shirt, wiping his face with it. Cream sat beside him and kept sneaking glances at him, unaware Zulu noticed every one.

"So, um…I thought you were really amazing." She started. "You kept up with Sonic." Zulu chuckled at her flattery.

"Well, kept up is a relative term, but I suppose I did ok." He stated modestly. "I am a weapon, I was trained and augmented to be able to handle anything." He looked down sadly.

"I don't think you're a weapon." Cream said softly, staring up at him with big, admiring eyes. He glanced down at her skeptically.

"Believe me." He said solemnly. "I am. I was a killer, even before being augmented and trained."

"Well I don't see you as a weapon." She crawled into his lap and put her hand on his chest. "Weapons don't have hearts or feelings, nor do they care about anything." Cream smiled up at Zulu. "I feel your heart. I can tell it has feelings and that it cares." She blushed. Zulu smiled down at her. This little bunny amazed him. He gently rubbed the top of her head and around her ears, finding the way she looked when he petted her, eyes closed and her tongue poking out of her mouth, adorable.

"Your mother is so blessed." Zulu whispered.

"Food is ready!" Vanilla called.

Zulu picked up Cream, stood up, and placed her on his right shoulder, since it was broad enough for her to stand on. She hugged his head so she wouldn't fall and he walked to the kitchen. Everyone was gathered around the kitchen table as Zulu entered the room. Blaze and Amy exchanged glances upon seeing Cream clinging to Zulu's head as he bent over to fit under the door. Vanilla smiled to herself, happy her little Cream was bonding with the tall soldier. The boys didn't really notice anything, just giving a quick glance to Zulu and Cream before turning their attention back to the sandwiches.

After lunch Zulu snuck out into Tails yard, carefully observing the area. It was secluded and provided great privacy. He walked outside into the sun and sat under a tree, looking up into the sky. The social lunch setting had reminded him of a time with his team. After one of their many combat drug tests, they had been sent back to their barracks where they lived. Jarving only saw them when he had to experiment on them, so he only ever saw them in their mindless state under the combat drugs influence. Back in their barracks, after the drugs had worn off, they would chat and bond. At first they all kept to themselves, Zulu giving them a brief intro when they first arrived. Over time they slowly opened up, and Zulu got to know his men. Under the tree he remembered when Echo had vanished while on their way back to their barracks. They didn't really notice or care, considering the drugs wouldn't wear off for a while. Echo, however, had an extraordinary recovery time, and was his normal self usually within 15 minutes of the end of their tests. He returned to their quarters an hour later when they had started to become their normal selves again with a bottle of Whiskey.

"Jarving didn't lock up his room." He had chuckled, tossing the bottle to Lima.

"Oh hell yes, man I've needed a good drink." Lima said, feigning desperation.

"Well look no further, for your savior Echo will always fulfill every need." Echo replied, striking a mocking saintly pose.

"Man, Jarving has good taste, this is the good shit!" Echo said surprised.

"Well crack it open and spread the love, don't hog it like an asshole." Joked Oscar.

They all poured themselves a drink, save Zulu, who didn't drink, and toasted to Jarving for his good taste. Zulu chuckled to himself at the memory and leaned back into the tree, closing his eyes, and falling asleep in the shade. Unknown to him, a small bunny had been watching him from inside, and now slowly crept up to him. Cream, getting sleepy from the comfortable warmth of the sun, gently crawled into Zulu's lap, curled up, and fell asleep as well.

Shadow and Rogue stood at the site where they had encountered Eggman and Zulu fighting. The alleyway was pockmarked with bullet holes and a destroyed dumpster. They had combed the alley for anything residual from the portal appearing, but got no readings on their equipment. As they exited the alley, Shadow's com vibrated. He glanced at Rogue and rolled his eyes, answering the call.

"Sir?" He said flatly, slightly annoyed.

"I want a report on your progress." Said a gravelly voice. "I don't like your tone either, you better be taking this seriously." It threatened.

"Sir, the portal was here for only moments and vanished, and both Tails and Eggman have equipment to pick up an EMP reading that big. Rogue and I have found evidence of a firefight here onsite. We can see two separate groupings of bullet marks, one spread in the alley and another in the street, meaning at least three parties were involved, which I assume would have been Eggman, who did the shooting, Sonic's team, and probably who or whatever came through that portal. We got here to late last night, but we have some leads to go on for sure. We will track down Eggman and interrogate him about the portal, then follow up with Sonic."

"Hmmm, very good." The voice said, sounding pleased. "Continue the good work, but don't slack off." The call abruptly ended, and Shadow sighed.

"I hate humans." He growled.

"Oh calm down Shaddy boy, let's go visit Eggman, vent some of your anger." Rogue soothed.

"Sounds good to me, then you can report back to base, say I'm following up with Sonic, and snoop around there for anything about the portal, the drugs, or contact with anyone from Zulu's dimension." He finished. Rogue nodded and he grabbed her shoulder. "Chaos Control!"

Zulu woke up to the sight of the evening sun, turning the sky a deep rich orange as it lazily sank from the sky. He felt a warm weight in his lap and looked down to find Cream, curled up in his lap asleep. He smiled as her ears lightly twitched as she slept and her upper lip quivered slightly. Gently, he scooped her up in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder and took her inside. Unconsciously, she grabbed his shirt collar and pressed her forehead to his neck. He walked into the kitchen to find Vanilla chopping up vegetables. Her ear twitched back as he approached and she turned to see who it was.

"Oh, Zulu, gosh, I was wondering where she had gone off too." She smiled.

"Well, I went outside to get some air and took a nap under the tree." He chuckled quietly. "Woke up with this cute ball of fur in my lap."

"I'm sorry, normally she's pretty shy and gives people their space."

"No, don't be ma'am. I don't mind at all."

"She is a good judge of character."

"She was raised well." Zulu replied sincerely.

"You're to kind. I'd hardly believe you were a soldier."

Zulu sighed. "I've done terrible things, while both brainwashed by drugs and of sound mind." He glanced at the bunny on his shoulder. "I'm not deserving of such admiration." Vanilla shook her head and carefully took Cream from him before replying.

"As her mother my natural instinct is to protect her above all else. She is more precious to me than anything else in this world. I would never let any harm come to her if I can help it. As an animal I can read humans very well. Animals are much better at sensing a person's true self than humans. If you were the cold hearted killer you think you are, do you think I'd let you anywhere near her?" She responded. Zulu looked from Vanilla to the little bunny cradled in her arms. Slowly he reached out, Vanilla making no move to pull Cream out of reach, and brushed a tuft of hair from the sleeping bunny's face. Vanilla smiled to herself and looked at a clock on the wall.

"Well we best be getting home, I'll see you tomorrow Zulu." Vanilla said as she turned to leave. "Remember what I said. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you're surrounded by friends here and we all want to help. No one here sees you as a mindless weapon, and we will find out what's going on. If anyone is after you or trying to use you as a weapon, you won't have to fight alone." She finished, and with that, took her leave.

Zulu watched her go and went back to the tree he had slept under, running over what she had said in his mind. He held up his hands and looked at them. His hands were rough and hard, having fought and killed, capable of committing horrendous acts of violence, yet able to gently hold and pet little Cream. He forced his doubts out of his mind as he glanced up to watch the sunset, determined to be the man they all saw and admired.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 4**

 **Hey guys. Been awhile. Got a really good chapter I think, although maybe not. All that matters is if you are happy. I enjoyed writing it. Let me know if it jumps around a bit to much or is hard to follow at times. It's my first real attempt at having multiple things going on at once. Hopefully my first try here doesn't hurt the story to much. Really hope you guys enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated, no matter what you say, good or bad, we all want the story to be good.**

Rogue strutted down the halls of the G.U.N headquarters after giving a report to her and Shadow's commanding officer. The report detailed their current investigation into the recent portal phenomena and tracking down whatever could have possibly come through it. It was complete bogus, but the CO believed it and let her go without further questioning. Now she prowled the halls heading toward the research and development section of the base.

Shadow was off at Eggman's hideout playing his part in their "investigation" so anyone that G.U.N had watching them wouldn't see through their ruse. Rogue's current objective was to make her way into the research and development area and try to find any information about the portal, communications to or from Zulu's dimension, and or the combat drugs G.U.N was developing. She turned a corner and noticed the R&D door ahead of her flanked by two guards. As she approached them she quickly thought of an excuse to get by them.

"Hello boys." She greeted them with a wink, adding an arousing tone to her voice. She watched them closely for how they would react.

"State your business." The guard to her right demanded. She saw some fatigue in his eyes and smiled to herself. She also noticed the other guard trying his best to ignore her entirely.

"Come on guys, you know I like a responsible man in uniform." She purred at them. "But it's late, and I also appreciate a man who can let loose a little at night." She added a small pout at the end, slowly looking them both up and down with her eyes. She caught a slight bead of sweat run down the guard on her left's forehead. The one on her right, however, sighed with irritation and she changed her strategy.

"You must have official business to come in here, agent or otherwise. We have not gotten word that you were to be admitted into this section tonight, thus, you need to leave." The right guard stated firmly, narrowing his eyes at her. Rogue rolled her eyes and unleashed her plan, overwhelming, indomitable sass.

"Well then, if you just have to know a lady's business, my jumpsuit has really started chaffing me recently." She slid her hands over her breasts and down her sides, puffing out her chest and pivoting sideways as she showed them exactly where her suit was uncomfortable. "Look how tight it is! I can't work in this! I'm a maturing woman who needs my jumpsuit just right around the chest!" The guard cut her off, his will crushed and fatigue weighed heavily on him, he didn't want to deal with her anymore.

"Ok! Ok! You can pass!" He motioned her by and sighed as the door closed behind her. "Jesus Christ, what a bitch." He muttered. The other guard nodded in agreement.

Rogue, satisfied with herself, continued on down the hall that started branching out to various labs in the facility. She peeked into various rooms as she went, looking for anything that looked like a portal or a chemical lab for the drugs. Rogue stopped in front of a door weirdly labeled "Stimulation Lab". She chuckled to herself as her mind went to some sexual place before she regained her focus and slid inside the room, shutting the door behind her with a ghost of a whisper.

Rogue scanned the room for security cameras as well as other G.U.N personnel, noting where the cameras were and where they were pointing, and determining she was alone. She slowly stepped up to a big stainless steel table littered with various stands holding glass vials and beakers with a rainbow of different colored liquids inside them. There were five other similar tables in the room, three of which had more vials and beakers atop them and the two remaining had computers and equipment she couldn't identify. She crept around the room following the very thin blind area the cameras didn't cover and made it to a computer desk undetected.

She powered it on and, using her training, hacked into the computer files using an untraceable skeleton key of sorts used by G.U.N spies with her own unique style so it wouldn't be easily recognized. She systematically began going through each file, looking for any key words she had mentally made. Finally, in her ninth file, she spotted one of her keywords, "combat". The following information she read in the file was an entire catalog of hypotheses, tests, developments, observations, subject tests, noted symptoms, and varying results of a program the file called "Puppeteer". Rogue began to feel sick as she read through the tests that were done and symptoms the test subjects developed and wanted to leave the room immediately.

Suddenly, outside the lab, Rogue heard an echo of footsteps coming down one of the halls toward the lab. She quickly printed out all the information and gave the papers a final look before tucking them into her jumpsuit.

"This is so wrong." She muttered to herself as she made her way out of the room and began heading back toward the two guards from earlier, forgetting about finding the portal and wanting nothing more than to leave as the once plain and boring walls took on a more sadistic feel, daring her to find out what other atrocities were committed behind the scenes. She was a few strides down the hall when the patrolling guard she had heard from inside the lab rounded the corner behind her and called for her to stop and explain what she was doing there. Rogue, feeling sick and uncomfortable, gave him a quick excuse about getting a new better fitting uniform and said she was leaving. The guard let her go and Rogue left the building without further incident.

"Hey Shadow, its Rogue. Just left G.U.N, you won't believe what they have been doing."

"Just finished with Eggman. Let's rendezvous at Tails' place."

"Oh, and Shadow, I-I'm sorry."

"What?"

Rogue didn't reply, for she was overcome with emotion and she didn't want him to hear her cry as she thought about what types of horrible things G.U.N might have done to Shadow in secret.

"Dammit!" Commander Jarving shouted as he slammed his fist down on his desk. It had been a long day of watching the news coverage of the explosion and re-watching the surveillance videos of the raid that occurred the previous evening at his research lab. Reporters had come to the IA complex to ask about any possible involvement, to which Jarving replied he was leading a full investigation into the explosion, but avoided answering any questions about IA being connected to it.

His advisors and fellow research members flinched as his fist hit the table.

"It was a massive explosion! Do any of you have anything useful to share?" He demanded, glaring at his other advisors, ignoring the man in front of him who had found out nothing about what happened. One of his advisors stepped forward clutching a folder. She adjusted her glasses and handed it to him as she began to report her findings.

"Sir, although it is quite a setback that information has been hard to find regarding what happened to the team, we can view this as a positive. Whoever is responsible is also wanting to cover it up and has cleaned up quite a mess. However, I tracked down an eye-witness, and his account of last night is in the file."

Jarving raised his eyebrows at her and opened the file.

"That all sounds well and good but this says that the man is homeless." He glanced up at her questioningly.

"Sir, he was interrogated by me personally, I can verify what he said, just read."

Jarving gave her a small nod and read through the file.

"Hmm, I see, so he has been living in the old underground areas. He heard the explosion and thought it was an earthquake. He fled up to the street and hid in a dumpster. He heard car engines a while later and peeked out to see a bunch of armed men emerging from a couple trucks and hurrying into the rubble of the building. They started bringing bodies out of the rubble….." He trailed off, his eyes growing more intense. "Two groups of body bags…" "Twenty or so loaded into one truck…" "Five into the other…" "The five that were separated seemed bigger than normal…" Jarving stopped and stood up, staring the woman dead in the eyes.

"He only counted five?" He said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes sir, we asked multiple times and had him retell his story a few times, he was consistent. He only saw five."

"Alright everyone listen up! I want this city turned upside down. As you all know Zulu's team had seven men, so let's find out which two are MIA!" Jarving felt relieved some of his boys made it out alive. He dispatched everyone to begin the search and sat back down in his chair, frustrated he couldn't join the search since whoever wanted him dead was still out there. So going out into the city was not a smart option. Elsewhere, a similar investigation was just getting underway.

"So, the few men who survived the explosion confirmed all seven of those freaks were hit?" A dark, gruff voice growled.

"Yes sir." Erik Murphey replied. Murphey had been assigned to lead the elimination mission of Project W.E.A.P.O.N. Unfortunately, it all had gone south and now he had to deal with his boss. He cringed and moved the phone away from his ear as the phone erupted.

"Then would you mind telling me where Hell the other two are!?"

"Sir I-"

"Sir!" One of his officers rushed in and interrupted. "Local hospital had a break in last night after the explosion! We investigated and we believe it was one of those two men!" Erik nodded.

"Sir, we just found a lead at a local hospital, I'll get back to you with positive results."

"You better! Raeger out." The line went dead and Erik hurried after the officer, excited for a man hunt.

Overnight Shadow and Rogue had met with Tails and Zulu and discussed Rogue's findings. Zulu confirmed he had been put through a lot of the tests listed, but was unaware of any symptoms or side-effects.

"Well it looks like most of the symptoms are triggered by stress." Tails observed. "I'd say it would be preferable for you to avoid intense combat or your mind might relapse into a state similar to how it was when you were under the drugs influence."

"Which would be dangerous for everyone around me." Zulu nodded in agreement. "In training our minds and bodies were put through immense stress and pain and prodded, so to speak, to react with extreme aggression and prejudice. If we were going out we were going to take everyone with us. The more injuries we sustained the harder we would fight."

"And you were the leader of the team, so you must be quite a force to be reckoned with when under stress." Shadow added.

"I guess." Zulu said solemnly. "In my opinion though I don't think I was the most dangerous. We were a team, we all had our strengths and weaknesses just as you and your friends do. I became the leader mainly due to my long fuse. I could hold myself together the longest in training before "becoming weaponized" as Jarving called it. That way, as my team slowly succumbed to the stress of combat and got more violent and aggressive, I would become the mind of the group, and would guide them to where they would be most effective like my own body. However, if my teammates fell, you could say I was the most dangerous then." Zulu paused, thinking hard. "That said." He continued. "There was one man on our team I was genuinely afraid of."

"Really?" Tails asked, finding it hard to believe this giant man could feel fear.

"Who?" Shadow asked, intrigued. Zulu didn't answer, lost in thought as he remembered the cross-hair like eyes of his ex-teammate. Shadow and the others shared a look and waited.

"It doesn't really matter now." Zulu finally spoke. "I am going to get some shut-eye." He silently left the room and went to bed.

"Think he's ok?" Rogue asked, looking concerned.

"It's probably the first time he's ever told anyone that." Shadow said. "He might feel guilty and disrespectful feeling that way about a dead brother in arms."

"Well as long as we give him his space, I think he will be alright." Tails said to Rogue. "There is a lot we don't know and all we can do is show we genuinely care." He finished, yawned, and departed as well, wishing Rogue and Shadow goodnight.

"Guess we can sack out here for the night." Shadow said, finding a comfortable place on the couch and shutting his eyes. Rogue went and lied down on the opposite side of the couch, gently reaching down with a wing to cover Shadow before falling asleep as well.

At 10:17am the next morning Jarving was in his office waiting for any reports from his advisors on any further leads about his two missing boys. Earlier that morning he had gotten a call about a break in at a hospital that might be related. So far he had heard nothing more. His phone began to ring and he eagerly answered it.

"This is Jarving, any new leads?"

"Sir, another break in, this time a local gun store. Clerk called the police half an hour ago to report that when he arrived to work he found his shop had been broken into. Someone had seemingly ripped the back door off its hinges and stolen some guns."

"What guns were stolen?"

"Sir?"

"Look, each member of the team had their preference of combat and how they did things, what guns were stolen?" He asked more urgently.

"I'll find out and get back to you sir." His advisor hung up and Jarving drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. Ten minutes later the phone rang.

"So?" He answered.

"A Barret M82A1 was stolen from the owner's personal collection in his shop office, along with a Desert Eagle chambered in .50 caliber, two Sig Sauer P220s, three knives, and a lot of ammo." Jarving gulped.

"Alright, get back to the complex, and tell everyone else to get back here too, ASAP." He hung up, dreading what this meant. An hour later everyone gathered in Jarving's meeting room and waited for him to start.

"Alright, I'm sure you all know of the gun store break in, and are aware of what was taken?"

"Yes sir!" They all replied.

"Well, I called you all back because it's no longer safe. The teams last orders came from me, so as far as we know, the two who lived most likely think we set them up and tried to eliminate them. With this new evidence I can say that for sure, the weapons taken match only one of the teams profile, and he is sure to be gunning for us, and anyone else trying to track him. If we stop, he will have to come to us, and whoever else is trying to find him, they will be digging their own grave."

"Who is it? And can we be sure that calling off the search is the right decision?" One of his advisors asked.

"Yes it's the right decision. You don't know the team very well but the researchers here know each member of Zulu's team, and the man in question is probably the most dangerous on his own, since he was the Lone Wolf of the group. Our enemy will buy us time while we figure out what to do when he inevitably turns his sights on us. Looks like Victor has begun his hunt."

"So their sniper made it out alive?" Erik asked, looking at the report of the gun shop break in.

"Yes sir, that's my guess."

"That narrows our search area. Send out teams to any places a sniper would hide. We will flush him out and take him down. Any news on the other one that made it out?"

"No sir, either they are together, or the other one is deep in hiding."

"No matter, we have controlled the cover up well enough, time is not an issue as to when we finish cleaning up the mess, so we can track them down one at a time." Erik said, feeling confident his men would find this loose dog and put him down.

Five ten-man teams were dispatched at noon around Seattle to various areas where a sniper would likely hide out. One team covered the area around the Space Needle, while a second team went to where the Safeco and "Clink" stadiums were. The "Clink" was a locally given nickname to the Seahawks stadium, a mash up of Century Link. The third team investigated various construction areas around the city, checking out the massive cranes that overlooked everything around them. A fourth team was sent to the industrial and commercial shipping docks, searching the big ships in secret for any clues of someone hiding out on board. The last team sent out was a patrol, and had orders to drive around 24/7, covering the quiet neighborhoods and less populated areas of the city, as well as being a mobile support to any of the other four teams, should they call for assistance.

At 10:00pm the teams began their check in with Erik via conference call. He eagerly awaited any findings they had made, but assumed there had been nothing groundbreaking or they would have contacted him ASAP.

"This is Team 1, no one has seen anyone suspicious around the Space Needle or the outlying parks."

"Team 2 reporting, nothing at the sports stadiums or train area nearby."

"This is Team 3, not much to report besides some missing construction tools at a site by the water. Just some wrenches, a heavy duty socket wrench, and some welding equipment, doesn't seem like our target."

"Hmm, we will keep note of it." Erik replied. "Alright teams 4 and 5, what have you got?" There was a long pause. "Teams 4 and 5, report!" He repeated, a sick feeling sinking into his stomach.

"Uh…This is team 5 I guess." Started a confused sounding field operative. "We found nothing on our patrol and no one we asked had seen anyone unusual."

"Alright. Team 4?" Erik demanded. "Team 4 report in! That's an order!"

There was no reply.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 5**

 **Hey everyone! Longest chapter yet! I put a lot into this one, rewrote it four times, trying to make it feel just right. I hope you guys enjoy it! Lots of things are being set in motion.**

It had been pretty uneventful for Zulu since Rogue had reported what she had found out about the drug testing a week prior. He had spent his days relaxing outside under the tree in Tails' yard and sparring with Sonic, Silver, Knuckles, and Shadow in Tails' hangar. He was pretty much fully recovered from his injuries and was slowly getting better at keeping up with Sonic and Shadow. He also noticed a lot of improvement in Knuckles fighting style. Zulu gave Knuckles hard challenges when they fought, either handicapping him in some way like limiting the number of attacks he was allowed to make, or restricting Knuckles to be on the defensive only. Silver was an entirely different experience, but Zulu enjoyed in nonetheless. Silver forced Zulu to constantly be on the move, for any pause or moment of hesitation would result in Silver catching him with his psychic powers. Zulu's speed, strength, endurance, and reflexes far exceeded what they were when he first got there thanks to all the sparring.

It was early afternoon and Zulu was sitting on a bench in the hangar, wiping sweat from his face after a long session with Silver. Zulu usually trained for an hour with Sonic and Shadow in the morning back to back, then coached Knuckles for an hour and finished with an hour or more of endurance with Silver.

"Damn! Playing tag with you sucks." Zulu panted as Silver sat beside him, showing no signs of fatigue.

"Hey you got pretty close to me that time, but you are a pretty big target." Silver shot back with a smirk.

"Ha ha ha, funny." Zulu chuckled sarcastically, giving the silver hedgehog a smile. "So tell me, what's up with you and Blaze?" He asked, catching the reddening of Silver's cheeks and starting to laugh.

"I-uh-we um…" Silver mumbled, blushing harder and scratching the back of his head, staring at his feet and turning away from Zulu, who gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Excuse me gentlemen." Zulu and Silver looked toward the hangar door to see Vanilla walking toward them.

"Oh hey Vanilla!" Silver raised a hand in greeting, glad for the interruption.

"Hello ma'am." Zulu greeted her formally.

"Sorry to interrupt but I have a favor I wanted to ask." Vanilla said apologetically.

"Hey no problem! What do you need?" Silver happily replied while Zulu gave her a smile and a nod.

"Well, I just got called in to the hospital and I won't have time to pick up Cream from school, so I was wondering if someone could do that for me." She asked. Zulu and Silver exchanged a glance.

"Hmm." Zulu pondered, weighing the risk of possible discovery. "We would be walking her home?"

"Yes, but it's not a far walk at all, it just goes through a bad area and I don't want her walking alone." Vanilla replied. Zulu gave her a nod.

"Alright ma'am, we got it covered."

"Yeah don't sweat it Vanilla." Silver added confidently.

"Thank you two very much, I'll be off now." Vanilla gave them a smile and departed from the hangar.

Zulu and Silver arrived just as the bell rang and kids poured forth from the school. Zulu quickly crouched so he wouldn't scare the children by his size. A few minutes later both he and Silver noticed two big bunny ears perk up as Cream came outside and saw them. Zulu hadn't seen Cream since his first day in their dimension and couldn't help the big smile that formed as he watched her hurry over to them, excitement and joy plastered all over her face. She squealed and leaped onto Zulu, hugging him as best she could and burying her face in his neck. Silver watched with a smile as Zulu stood up, gently hugging Cream and laughing.

"Hey you stop that, it tickles!" Zulu chuckled, rubbing the top of her head and around her ears. Cream giggled and climbed onto his shoulder, hugging his head for balance as they began to walk to her house.

"Hi Silver!" She chirped, looking down at him.

"Hello to you too." He replied, giving her a smile. "How was school?"

"Good." She sighed. "P.E. was really fun, but I still don't like math." She made a sour face.

"I'd be happy to help you if you'd like." Zulu offered with a laugh. "I was pretty good at math when I was in school."

"Really?!" Cream exclaimed. "Yay!"

"Woah, didn't think you'd have a brain since it would be starved of oxygen way up there." Silver teased, getting Zulu back for earlier.

"What do I look like, a mountain?" Zulu shot back.

"You sure are fun to climb on." Cream added, giggling at their banter.

"Careful Cream!" Silver said loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth and pretending to call up to her. "You don't have any safety harnesses!" Zulu raised his right arm and punched Silver on top of the head. "Ow!" Silver yelped and looked up at him.

"Sorry." Zulu said. "Your yelling caused an avalanche." He looked down at the hedgehog trying to keep a straight face before bursting into laughter along with Cream and Silver. They continued walking and teasing each other until they were about a block from Cream's house, when Zulu stopped walking suddenly and slowly looked around. His senses were telling him someone was watching them. Silver recognized this and motioned for Cream to hop down to him. He then grabbed Cream's hand and started looking around as well, checking the tops of nearby buildings. Zulu's sharp and experienced eyes quickly found three men who had been tailing them.

"Stick close." Zulu warned. "I've spotted three."

"I see them." Silver confirmed.

"On second thought, take Cream and stay with her at the house, I don't want you two involved if you don't need to be."

"Right…" Silver said hesitantly, regretfully pulling Cream away to her house, not liking leaving Zulu behind but knowing someone had to get Cream out of there and stay with her.

Zulu narrowed his eyes as he watched the three men break cover and spread out, slowly approaching him. He saw how cautious they were being and guessed they weren't heavily armed. He allowed them to close the distance to ten feet or so before addressing them.

"So am I safe to assume you're with this G.U.N. agency I have heard about?" Zulu asked casually. The men glanced at one another before the one in the middle replied.

"Someone called the police to report about a really tall man they had seen around the school. Our C.O. ordered us to investigate since we were in the area. Looks like we found the man our two "best" agents couldn't find, or rather, overlooked."

"Well good for you. Now if there's nothing else, there's a bunny that needs my help with her homework and I'd hate for her to have to tell her teacher she couldn't do her homework because her tutor was busy kicking the shit out of three secret agents." Zulu growled, having no patience for these men right now. He had been really looking forward to spending time helping Cream.

"Looks like she's going to have to get help from the silver hedgehog instead." The middle man smirked, pulling out what looked like a tazer and lunging toward him. Zulu calmly leaned back, raising his right leg, and drove his foot square into the man's chest with a brutal kick, sending him flying back 20 feet onto the road, past where his two buddies, who had been drawing their weapons, stood. He landed hard on his back and didn't move. Zulu watched as the remaining two, visibly shocked, glanced from him, to each other, to the one he had kicked. Slowly they backed away and grabbed their friend, hauling him over to a nearby van, which they entered and quickly drove off.

Zulu sighed and walked to Cream's house, knowing things just got a lot harder. He stepped up to the door and it flung open before he could knock. Cream jumped out and hugged his leg as Silver glanced down the street.

"Geez, that was some kick." He said. "We were watching from the window. Were they from G.U.N.?"

"Yeah." Zulu sighed. "They were going to catch on sooner or later." He crouched down and patted Cream's head. She looked up at him and he smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't you worry Cream, now, about that math homework?"

It had been a tough week for Erik. Time and time again, the teams he sent out never came back. Since the first incident a week ago when he lost a ten man team down at the docks, Erik had dispatched 12 more teams, with only five of them reporting back in. Two days ago a covert operative he had monitoring Sea-Tac airport, in case their mystery sniper decided to leave the country, had been found dead in a bathroom. His commanding officer Raeger was furious and had reached out to some of his operatives in other countries to see where the man would pop up. They had found a small amount of surveillance footage at Sea-Tac of the man they were after, but they couldn't find any records of what flight he took. Erik had sent his description out to Raeger's international operatives and was now waiting for word of any sighting.

Jarving was also aware of what happened at the airport, only he knew where Victor was headed. Somehow Victor had found out about Jarving's contact in Japan, and must be going to investigate for himself. That was the only explanation he could think of, so he had decided to warn his foreign ally.

"Hello?"

"It's Jarving, listen, you might have a visitor very soon."

"What? What do you mean?" The man replied, sounding nervous.

"Long story short, one of the team survived the ambush. He logically must suspect I was somehow involved and did a wiretap on me or something. Anyhow, through phone records or otherwise he found out about you and is heading your way. My best guess is he's already there. If he contacts you, get in touch with me as soon as possible, and if he asks any questions, don't lie, he will know if you do."

"U-Understood. Um what does he look like?"

"About that, you'll know him when you see him. Sorry to be so vague." Jarving said apologetically.

"Ah, still not safe over there?" The man asked, catching on.

"Exactly, I don't want to give a full description if I don't have to."

"Alright, oh, we are almost ready, day or two more tops." The line went dead.

Jarving slowly set the phone down and gently shook his head.

"Damn they are fast at making a portal." He muttered quietly to himself.

It was dark and raining in Tokyo. Victor was closing in on the location of Jarving's contact. A few days prior, Victor had gone back to the research labs and checked Jarving's communications from the day of the ambush, looking for who he might have called or gotten a call from to set up the ambush. He found a call from Japan that came in during their operation and he had made note of it. He carried no weapons on him, having left them all back in Seattle, stashed away at the docks. He had eliminated quite a few strike teams sent after him and he figured his enemy would stop to rethink their strategy, so he felt comfortable going unarmed. He had run into a spy at the airport, but it was no problem for Victor.

As he walked his head was on a constant swivel, knowing that who was after him definitely had people all over the world looking for him. Victor was positive he had already been identified and it was just a matter of time before they showed up to take him. So far people either ignored him or intentionally avoided him out of fear. Standing at around eight feet tall he towered over everyone else. Victor had always been a big man, and the augmentations just amplified it to the extreme. He was also rippling with muscle. Before the augmenting he had the build of a very tall power lifter, and now he just looked like a giant power lifter.

He was the biggest and strongest of his team, and also the most violent and aggressive. It was actually safer to be around him when he had the combat drugs in his system. However, the current situation dictated he use the utmost caution and restraint, and Victor had no intention of drawing even more attention to himself if at all possible. He had always been the lone wolf of the team, never spoke with any of the guys, but, that said, watching the team get shot to pieces didn't sit well with him. As he rounded a corner he thought back to the ambush and how he had escaped.

He had been hit on his right shoulder and fell off the platform. He had rolled when he landed and leaped for a boarded up door, hoping to take cover in the room he thought was behind it. Victor remembered crashing through the door and instead falling down an elevator shaft to the basement one floor down, followed closely by an explosion that rocked the foundations around him. Zulu had still been alive and fighting on the platform, as far as he knew, when the explosion occurred, and Victor wondered about whether he died from the explosion, or the gunfire.

He continued walking until he found the street that matched the address he was looking for. He had been walking for about an hour and was feeling slightly fatigued. Victor mentally gathered himself and focused on making a plan. He ran multiple options through his head and weighed the different outcomes, finally deciding on going in casually, only resorting to violence if necessary. He approached the building that had the corresponding address and casually walked up to the front entrance, large glass doors sliding apart to grant him entry.

Hitoshi Yatatsuba was doing a final test on the nearly finished portal with his small team of researchers when his phone buzzed. Curious, he pulled it out to see that the front desk was calling him.

"Yes?" He answered.

"A giant man just walked in, I'm hiding under the reception desk." The receptionist whispered. Hitoshi gulped, knowing it was the man Jarving warned him about.

"I'll be right there, don't move or call the police, I'll handle it." He said quickly, hanging up and hurrying up to the front area. When he entered the room he saw a giant man standing in front of one of the elevators. He glanced over and saw the receptionist was still hiding, but ok.

"Excuse me!" He called. The giant looked over at him and a shiver of cold fear ran down his spine. The man's eyes were like cross hairs, staring blankly at him as if he were a paper target. "J-Jarving informed me you would show up here." The man turned toward him and slowly walked over to him. "I am Hitoshi Yatatsuba, lead researcher at this facility, follow me, as I'm sure you have a lot of questions." He turned and began walking back toward the lab, feeling the man looming over him from behind but not hearing him take a single step. "Jarving told me you would think he was involved in the fate of your team, and not to lie to you, since you'd know immediately if I did." Hitoshi rambled on, nervous and disturbed by this giant who moved without a sound, which spoke volumes of his training.

They reached the lab and sat at one of the tables. Victor instantly recognized the portal in the middle of the room and tensed up. He glared across the table at Hitoshi who quickly looked away and reached for a phone. Victor grabbed his wrist and twisted it, almost to the point of breaking the Hitoshi's arm. Hitoshi yelped and struggled to pull his hand away.

"Look, ahhh, Jarving said to call him as soon as you showed up, he just wants to explain the situation!" Hitoshi pleaded. Victor released his wrist, slid the phone to Hitoshi, and stood up. Hitoshi watched for a moment as Victor walked around the room examining all the equipment before he picked up the phone. He put the call on speaker and waited as it rang.

"Hello? This is Jarving." He answered, catching Victor's attention and returning him to the table.

"Jarving, your man, he's here." Hitoshi stated.

"Victor? You made it? That's a relief. Well let's get straight to it. I know what you're thinking, and no, neither Hitoshi nor I had any involvement with the ambush." As Hitoshi listened to Jarving explain what happened he wondered if Victor would ever reply or say a word. He immediately regretted it.

"Understood sir." Victor stated after hearing out all of what Jarving had to say. His voice was deep, threatening, and Hitoshi never wanted to hear him talk again. He was sure that even the Devil himself would think again about messing with this man.

"Victor, we also have reason to believe someone else made it out alive. We have an eye-witness who confirmed that only five bodies were recovered." Jarving informed. Hitoshi saw something flash across Victor's eyes, he must know who survived.

"Sir." Victor started, causing cold shivers to run up and down Hitoshi's spine. "The only other person who could have made it out was Zulu. We were the last two alive and I never saw him get hit. How he would have avoided the blast though I can't say." He continued to report his account of the ambush and firefight, ending with his fall down the elevator shaft. Hitoshi began to get a creeping suspicion about how Zulu survived.

"Uh, Victor?" Hitoshi asked, receiving another look from those cross hair like eyes. "Could you please tell me where Zulu was when you last saw him, or draw a picture of the room's layout?" Victor gave him a small nod and went over to a white board. He drew a rough sketch of the room and any notable places or objects, like the portal platform and the nearby elevator shaft. He then wrote down where each member of his team had been and finished by circling the portal platform with the marker. "I assume that whatever we activated had something to do with the explosion?" Victor asked. Hitoshi nodded to him and took the marker.

"What you guys turned on was a portal. The portal was high jacked by the people who ambushed you and stored in that warehouse. The reason why they did all that is unknown and my guess is that the damage sustained by the nearby equipment during the shoot out caused the portals power suppression systems to fail, causing the explosion. However, what I can say for sure is that the only way Zulu survived was if he used the portal. From your account, he would have had enough time to get into the portal before it exploded." He tapped the marker on his lip before continuing. "The problem is that none of you knew what it was or what it did, so I can't see how he would have known to use it to escape."

"Even if he had known, Zulu wouldn't have used it." Victor stated. "Zulu would have died fighting with the rest of us rather than abandon us."

"What if he didn't use it willingly?" Jarving added.

"Explain." Growled Victor.

"Well you said it yourself that when you got hit in the shoulder you were flung off the platform. Zulu must have gotten hit as well, being a sitting duck up on that platform after you were knocked off. The force of a hit would have thrown him back into the portal." Jarving finished.

"Hmm. I guess that's the best theory we have right now." Hitoshi concluded. "Well the next portal is nearly done, just a day or two more."

"Victor, you up for finding Zulu?" Jarving more ordered than asked.

"The first objective when scattered and separated is to regroup." Victor said in response.

Erik stepped off a plane at a private I.A. military airfield in Tokyo. It had been approximately 20 hours since he had gotten world from a Japanese operative that their man had been spotted. He was eager to find him, and knew that Tokyo was where he was currently. Raeger had informed him that the portal had come from one of Jarving's contacts here in Japan, and was most likely in Tokyo. Erik was one of the few who knew about the portal and what it was supposed to do, but he had been kept in the dark about the fact that it had actually worked.

Erik was whisked away from the airfield to a small, private building owned by Raeger. It was used as a headquarters by people Raeger had stationed in Japan where they could communicate with the other operating HQ's around Japan and share intel with one another. As Erik entered the building he was approached by Niko Furyumi, who was in charge of Raeger's Tokyo branch. Niko lead him to their briefing room and got him up to speed on what they knew.

"Your man is on foot. He is avoiding any interaction with anyone to leave as small of a trail as possible, so we won't be able to track him through the public transport system." Niko began. "All we have come up with is a few traffic camera photos and a lot of useless eye witnesses. We can't find out where he was headed exactly."

"Well our best guess is Jarving's contact, but we never found out where they were located." Erik added.

"Yeah, we've been looking, but they are really good about hiding their research."

"Indeed." Erik nodded. "We just have to hope they slip up soon."

"We have started investigating every power outage that occurs in the city. It's only a matter of time before we find one caused by an E.M.P. So far our sensors haven't picked up much, nothing large enough to constitute a portal being tested anyway."

"It is also possible that the one that was destroyed was the only one they had, and they don't have another made yet." Erik added, getting a nod from Niko.

"That's what I've been thinking as well. All the more reason to find them quickly." Niko finished.

It was getting close to evening as Victor wandered around the building, noting all the staircases, elevators, and emergency exits in case the people hunting him showed up before the portal was ready. It was his second day and Hitoshi had told him that tonight might be the night. Victor made his way to the lab after mentally cataloging the final emergency exit at the rear of the building. He entered to find Hitoshi hurrying around excitedly, checking and double checking that various wires and cords were all plugged into their proper places and that all his equipment was operational.

Hitoshi turned to see the giant man as he entered the room and hid the shiver of fear he felt run through him.

"Ah, Victor, I'm making the final preparations now. We are only going to have one try at this, since whoever is after us will surely detect the E.M.P. this will cause."

"Just make sure it works." Victor growled dismissively.

"Y-Yes, certainly." Hitoshi looked around at each of his research teammates and they all gave him a nod. Everything was ready. "Alright Victor, here we go, step up on the platform." Hitoshi hurried to a desk and began imputing a complex sequence into a console to start the portal. Victor casually stepped up onto the four foot high platform, ignoring the stairs leading up to it. He turned to give Hitoshi a nod, then closed his eyes. Victor heard the machine whirl to life and got the ok from Hitoshi. He opened his eyes and stepped through the portal. In that moment, across two dimensions, sensory alarms went off in Raeger's building, the G.U.N. complex, Tails' house, and Eggman's base, all signaling a massive E.M.P. just occurred.

Victor found himself in the middle of a dark street, and nodded his head. Hitoshi's portal worked, and now the hunt was on.

"Alright Zulu." He muttered to himself. "Lets regroup."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 6**

 **Hey everyone! This chapter took me five tries to get right. Please review and let me know what you think. I'm sure you guys can find something that I can clean up or maybe explain a little better. Also, later in the chapter, there is reference to music. The metal song is 'The Fire and the Fury' by Firewind, so you can listen to it during that part if you like. There is also a quick reference to Hayley Westenra, who is a beautiful singer. And for all you guys out there who have been waiting for romance, it has finally arrived! Sort of haha. Anyways please enjoy!**

Victor stepped up onto the sidewalk and glanced around. It was dark, so he assumed it was night time, although he guessed that since he was in another dimension, this could be day time. He mentally decided that he would treat this place as if it were Earth, to save himself some sanity. He didn't see any shops open and no one was out walking around, and tried to think of how to best go about finding Zulu. Many questions were running through his head however and it was making it difficult to think of a plan. Was the E.M.P. caused by him showing up here detected? Was it smart to wait here and see if anyone showed up? Would whoever showed up be friendly or hostile? Should he evade and play it safe? So many questions and not enough answers.

The sound of loud engines approaching forced him to make a choice. He ducked into an alleyway and crouched behind a dumpster. He saw three black trucks drive by and heard them screech to a stop. He listened as the truck doors burst open and many boots hit pavement, quickly spreading out. He kept still and waited, wondering if they were here for him.

"Alright! Search the area! Seems another person has traveled through a portal, so be on your guard, they will most likely be hostile and dangerous!" Victor overheard an officer order.

"Yes sir!" Many men answered as one. Victor listened intently as they began their search. They were noisy and weren't trying to sneak around, which gave him the advantage. He had noted the ranking officer's mention of "another" person, so they were aware of Zulu, and they didn't seem friendly. His heightened hearing picked up a conversation the officer was having with someone which sparked his interest.

"Sir, I thought agents Shadow and Rogue were assigned to dealing with the E.M.P. activities. Why are we out here looking?"

"Agents Shadow and Rogue have, pardon the play of words, gone rogue. They have been covering for the man who previously arrived here and lied about their findings. Now, continue searching." Victor wondered who these agents were but was interrupted from thought by two men entering his alley. Victor decided they were not friendlies and waited for the right moment. As the barrel of a gun appeared from around the dumpster Victor stood and grabbed the gun with his left hand, in the same moment performing a quick chop with his right hand and smashed in the man's Adam's apple. The man let go of his gun as he crumpled to the ground and Victor crouched back behind the dumpster with his newly acquired gun.

"We have a man down!" The other man in the alley yelled to the others. "We got a hostile over here!"

Victor took aim and fired, putting a bullet through a man's head. He adjusted his aim immediately and dropped three more instantly. Bullets pinged off of the dumpster but he didn't duck down. He continued firing, conserving ammo by shooting one bullet at a time, each finding its mark. He had already eliminated 15 men when he saw three new arrivals enter the fray. The first two looked like hedgehogs, one blue and one black with red highlights. The third he recognized as Zulu. The three quickly tied up the men shooting at him in melee combat, allowing Victor to advance out of the alley and join in.

"Zulu sir!" He called. Zulu turned to him and nodded.

"Victor! Engage via non-lethal attacks only!" Zulu barked, catching Shadow and Sonic off guard.

"Yes sir!" Victor replied, changing his fighting style accordingly. "Careful, I believe the drivers are still in the trucks! There's also an officer around here somewhere!" Victor called out.

"Sonic!" Zulu demanded. "Take out those truck drivers! Shadow, disengage and find out where the ranking officer has slunk off too!" Zulu's tone was full of authority and offered no disagreement or compromise, so Sonic and Shadow did as they were ordered. Zulu and Victor quickly finished off the remaining men and waited behind one of the trucks. Shadow showed up first.

"No sign of the officer, guess he ran away." Shadow reported. "What got into you anyway? This guy appears and all the sudden you start ordering ME around?" He growled. Victor stepped forward but Zulu grabbed him.

"Easy Victor." Zulu chuckled. "Sorry about that Shadow, it's just when I was in action with my team and dosed up with drugs that was how I lead. Being in a fight with Victor again must have triggered one of those lasting side effects of the drugs we were given."

' _Oh yeah, we are supposed to try and keep him out of stressful situations._ ' Shadow remembered. He noticed Zulu had a sad look on his face and was staring down at his hands. "I understand Zulu, don't worry." He turned to Victor. "I'm Shadow by the way." Victor replied with a grunt and a nod.

"He doesn't talk much." Zulu stated, looking slightly better. Shadow felt a shiver run up his spine as Victor stared at him with cross hair like eyes. At this moment, Sonic sped up to the group.

"Hey guys, I was chasing one of the trucks, but it was too well armored for me to do anything, sorry." He reported, glancing nervously at Zulu.

"No worries, that's probably how the officer slipped away from the fight earlier." Zulu replied, patting Sonic on the shoulder. "Sorry about how I was earlier, I can explain on the way back." Sonic smiled and gave him a nod.

"Sure thing! Also, who's this guy?" He motioned to Victor, who glared down at him. Surprisingly, Sonic seemed mostly unfazed by Victor's eyes. "Man, you look like one mean dude, I bet you're a softy on the inside though!" He commented. Victor growled, causing Sonic to jump back. Zulu laughed.

"This is Victor… in my opinion… the most dangerous member… of my whole team." Zulu managed to gasp out between laughing fits.

"Woah seriously!?" Sonic exclaimed. "Sorry bud!" Victor glared down at the hedgehog speaking to him, wanting desperately to rip off the creature's head.

"Yeah." Zulu said, finally calming down. "It's best not to get on his bad side, but as long as I'm around you'll be fine."

Victor observed Zulu closely as they returned back to wherever they were going to stay. He noticed Zulu was different around these animals, but still genuine. This side of Zulu he had never seen before. _'You were an assassin at the end of the war, and dragged from jail to go through a brutal program that made you a weapon. What type of man are you Zulu?'_ Victor thought to himself. Soon, they arrived back at what looked like a big laboratory and an airplane hangar. More animals were waiting for them and greeted them all warmly. Victor stood back and watched. The blue one, Sonic, was tackled by a pink hedgehog. Zulu and Shadow were greeted by a sultry looking bat and a tall rabbit. The others, a two tailed fox, a cat, an echidna, and a silver hedgehog, crowded around them.

"Hey Victor, get your ass-OW!" Zulu beckoned to him but was interrupted by the rabbit jumping up and smacking him on the head. "Sorry Vanilla…" Victor heard Zulu mutter and he walked over to him. He felt all their eyes drawn to him as he stepped up beside Zulu.

"So, we have been joined by my teammate Victor everyone." Zulu gestured up to Victor. "He doesn't speak much, preferring action over words. I hope you will all welcome him as you did me. Don't take anything he says or does personally, just know that he had earn my respect and trust just like everyone else on my team." Zulu gave Victor a nod, and was surprised when Victor responded.

"Thank you sir."

The next morning Zulu brought Victor to the hangar for the morning training. Victor watched intently as Zulu sparred with Sonic and Shadow, impressed with how much Zulu had improved, but not showing it. Suddenly he remembered something he had brought with him. He reached into his pocket and grabbed Zulu's iPod. When he had snuck into the lab after the ambush to tap into Jarving's phone records, he had found it in their barracks. He wasn't a sentimental man, but Zulu had used it quite effectively in their training, using the music to get them into a slow or fast paced tempo, so he had grabbed it in case he had a spare moment to train himself.

He pulled it out when there was a pause in the action and tossed it to Zulu.

"What the…holy shit! You found this?!" Zulu exclaimed. "Oh Hell yeah! Tails!" He yelled.

"What is it?" The fox hurried in.

"I need a speaker!" Zulu said giddily.

"Uh, sure. Be right back." He gave Sonic and Shadow a quizzical look but they just shrugged. He left for a moment and returned with a speaker. "Will this do?"

"Let's see." Zulu examined it, finding a cord and slotting it into the iPod. "Damn right it will. Alright, time to really train, I hope everyone here likes metal."

"Metal?" Sonic asked. "What's that?"

"Only the best type of music out there!" Zulu replied, obviously a little too excited about this.

"What's it sound like?" Shadow asked a bit skeptically, unsure of Zulu's enthusiasm. The look Zulu gave him made him gulp as he replied with a violent, dark look clouding his features.

"Metal is the sound of violence and aggression…incarnate." Zulu growled. "Now, get ready Victor." Zulu selected a song and hit play, the fast guitar kicking up right off the bat as Zulu and Victor walked towards each other. They paused six feet apart, staring each other down as a layer of drums picked up the tempo. Then, as the guitar built up with a few chords, they lunged at each other, colliding as the guitar and drums joined and began a fast paced riff. Victor and Zulu became blurs, striking once per beat, and accelerating.

"Amazing." Sonic said in awe.

"I'm counting at least four strikes per beat." Shadow estimated.

"Woah!" Silver gawked, walking into the hangar. "What is this music, and how are they moving so fast?"

"I'm not sure, we will have to ask when they finish." Shadow replied, unable to take his eyes off Victor and Zulu. After a few minutes the song changed completely into a serene peaceful sound, almost meditative. Victor and Zulu slowed down and finally stopped, dripping with sweat and breathing hard. Zulu and Victor were covered in bruises, surprisingly, Victor was sporting more.

"Geez you guys, that was insane!" Sonic pumped a fist in the air.

"I can see what you mean about metal, the sound is quite provoking." Shadow commented.

"Ah that felt great!" Zulu stretched. Victor was impressed with Zulu's speed. He had become much faster in the time they had been apart. Victor knew he would have to up his game.

"Hush…..Lay down your troubled mind…" Zulu walked over and shut off the iPod. "Sorry Hayley, I'll meditate to you later."

"Hayley? Who's Hayley?" Silver asked, giving Zulu a smirk, hoping to find something he can tease him about.

"Geez you animals know nothing about good music do you?" Zulu said, turning up his nose and pretending to be snooty. "Hayley Westenra was to be my future wife." Victor gave Zulu a look like he had sprouted four heads.

"So you like metal and Hayley?" Sonic asked, very confused about Zulu's musical preferences.

"I liked the metal." Shadow muttered.

"Anyways, where's Blaze, Silver?" Zulu asked, trying to hard not to smirk as the hedgehogs cheeks got red.

"Where did that come from?" Silver shot back.

"You think I missed what you were trying to do asking about Hayley?" He laughed. "Speaking of, I saw that greeting Amy gave you last night Sonic." Zulu chuckled.

"Shut up! She's crazy about me, but it only goes one way." Sonic defended.

"Right." Zulu gave him a look before turning on Shadow. "And don't think you get to be left out of the fun, I see you hanging out with Rogue but it seems so professional, so maybe you already have your eyes on a girl hmmm?"

"Oh please, why would I waste my time with petty romance?" Shadow growled. Victor watched quietly and sighed to himself. Zulu was a natural at bonding with anyone he was around. Victor, although not an open and friendly person in the slightest, appreciated and respected Zulu's ability at befriending anyone. He was a good man at heart, and Victor wondered if he himself could find joy in something other than killing.

The afternoon progressed with Knuckles arriving and getting his lesson of the day from Zulu, followed by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver getting a chance to fight Victor. The animals noticed Zulu's behavior had changed since Victor had appeared, but it wasn't in a bad way. The man seemed happier and a bit more childish, or maybe he just seemed that way when compared to his taller, more unapproachable counterpart.

"Well guys, looks like it's that time." Zulu said, checking a clock on the hangar wall.

"I can't make it today." Silver replied. "You got Victor here though, and he hasn't met Cream yet."

"Dang, alright, let's roll grump bump." Zulu chuckled, glancing over at Victor. Victor rolled his eyes at the name and stood up, following Zulu out of the hangar.

"Who is this Cream?" Victor asked, wondering if it was another animal.

"Well look who learned how to speak! Cream is Vanilla's daughter. I've been walking her home from school for the past few days and helping her with her homework." Zulu smiled. "If you hurt her, I will rip your throat out." The sudden change of tone gave Victor a jolt. The malice and violent intent within Zulu's voice was clear. Victor was suddenly very curious of who Zulu had grown so protective of. He gave Zulu a quick nod.

"Course I can't really blame you if you scare her, since you're kind of stuck looking that way." Zulu continued, getting serious. "Anyways, I brought you along in case more G.U.N. agents show up. I usually have Silver along, so if we get caught up in something I will engage and you will get her to safety, understood?"

"Yes sir." Victor growled, irritated about getting babysitting duty. Suddenly a strong force impacted his jaw and dropped him to his knees. Victor grunted in surprise, looking up to see Zulu standing before him with fire in his eyes.

"Don't give me that bullshit sass." Zulu snarled. "I've played nice so far, but now is a good time to straighten things up. Maybe it was ok before when we were a team and it didn't really matter how we acted. I could tolerate the disrespect and flippant attitude then, because I knew when shit hit the fucking fan all we had to do was kill our way out." Zulu bent down right in Victor's face. "Well guess what? Your lone wolf, fuck everybody else attitude isn't going to fly with me anymore. It's not just about surviving a mission or killing all of our problems anymore, because we are not Jarving's puppets anymore, and there are more people's lives at stake than just ours now!" Zulu yelled in his face, passion and bottled up fury pouring out. "I don't give two shits about your background, or what you think you are. I don't know why you act like this quiet tough guy who will hurt anyone indiscriminately but you need to get over it, or at least open up about it, and do it quick. You're better than a mindless weapon, so start acting like it!" Zulu stood up straight and turned away from Victor. "Get on your God damn feet!" He barked. Victor jumped to his feet instantly.

"Yes sir!" Victor's mind was reeling. He had never seen Zulu blow up, but he never wanted to again. He stood completely still, not daring to move or sway in the slightest. He was still processing what Zulu had said when Zulu spoke again.

"Let's go, we are close, and think hard about what I said, don't think I haven't noticed that you've been more talkative and respectful recently, I know there's a nicer guy in there somewhere." And with that he was walking. Victor walked behind him in a daze. Zulu perked up as they approached the school, excited to see Cream. They got there right as the bell rang and kids exploded out of the school. Victor quickly spotted a cream colored bunny bound up and jump into Zulu's arms.

"Hey you!" Zulu smiled. He gently gave her a squeeze and lifted her up, letting her climb onto his shoulder.

"Hehe!" Cream giggled, glancing over at Victor. "Who's he?" She asked, voice trembling a bit.

"He is another member from my team. His name is Victor." Zulu answered gently. "He is very loyal and trustworthy."

Cream hid behind Zulu's head. "He's scary…"

"Don't worry, he scares me too. Just give him a chance like you gave me ok?" Zulu chuckled.

"Ok…" Cream replied hesitantly.

"Good, now, how was school?" Zulu began walking her home with Victor close behind. They chatted about her teachers and highlights of her day until they got to her house. Zulu unlocked the door with the key Vanilla had given him and they all went inside. Victor immediately wandered off.

"Hey, where did Victor go?" Cream asked.

"He is just checking the house. It's a habit we have." Zulu replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "I however, am able to control myself." He added in a monotone voice that made Cream laugh. They walked to the dining room table and laid out the work she had been assigned to do that night. Victor entered the room as they started on her English homework.

"All clear sir." Victor reported. Zulu gave him a quick nod before giving Cream a wink.

"He was attacked by a kitchen appliance once, so he says. Now he scours every house he enters in case there is an evil piece of furniture or hardware dwelling within." Cream burst out laughing, missing the hard glare Victor gave Zulu. Victor gabbed a chair and dragged it to a corner of the room where he had a good vantage point to see anyone approaching from outside. Zulu helped Cream with cleaning up her handwriting and grammar. They had finished that and were halfway through her Math when Vanilla got home.

"Hello you guys. Oh! Victor, didn't know you came today." Vanilla warmly greeted them.

"Momma!" Cream bolted over to Vanilla giving her a hug.

"Goodness, hello my dear!" Vanilla kissed her on the head. "How goes the homework?"

"Great! Zulu helped me finally understand long division!"

"Did he now?" She gave Zulu a smile. "Thank you so much for helping her."

"Not a problem Vanilla, how was work?" Zulu asked.

"Oh, you know, busy and stressful. So darling, what would you like for dinner?" She asked Cream.

"Macaroni!" Cream squealed.

"Well goodness me, alright." Vanilla chuckled. "You boys want to stay for dinner?"

"A chance to try Vanilla's cooking? How could we say no?" Zulu answered.

"Yay!" Cream exclaimed, hopping up and down.

"Perfect, I'll get started then." Vanilla headed for the kitchen and Cream hopped back to the table to finish her Math. Victor was lost in thought throughout the whole exchange about what Zulu had said earlier. Zulu was right of course, and everything he had said struck home with Victor. Seeing how Zulu was around Vanilla and her daughter Cream was strange for him, but it made sense. Zulu was a caring, protective, sociable person. Victor thought very, very hard, trying to replace Zulu with himself in this situation. A thought of how far he could punt the little rabbit crept into his head but he forced it out, a new feeling of disgust filling the void it left.

"Dinner is served." Vanilla said, bringing out some plates.

"Let me help with that." Zulu offered, getting up and disappearing into the kitchen, returning with a huge pot full of cheesy pasta.

"Oh, thank you Zulu." Vanilla smiled, a slight blush touching her cheeks as he leaned over her to set it on the table.

"No problem miss. Yo, grumplestiltskin, come sit." Zulu beckoned Victor, who rolled his eyes and sat beside Vanilla at the table, with Cream and Zulu sitting across from them. Cream was giggling from Zulu's namecalling as Vanilla spoke up.

"Well this is just lovely." She smiled. "Thank you Zulu for again taking time to walk Cream home and help her. And Victor, I hope you have enjoyed your time here so far. Now, let's dig in shall we?" Zulu served Cream a big spoonful of pasta since she was unable to reach. Victor observed them quietly as Cream shared more details about her school day and Vanilla talked about her work day in more depth. They were like a happy family, he thought. He suddenly wondered something and watched Vanilla out of the corner of his eye. She was staring at Zulu as he shared a story from his childhood. The way she was looking at him, a warm smile, slight coloring of her cheeks, could she?

It was late by the time they had finished the dishes after dinner. Cream had cleared off the table while Zulu had assisted Vanilla with the cleaning. Victor had now returned to his corner of the dining room and Vanilla was organizing some of her patient files from work, while Zulu helped Cream finish off her homework. Cream put her pencil down and leaned onto Zulu's arm.

"Done? Alright let me have a look." Zulu scooped up her papers and looked them over. "Well done Cream." He glanced down at her and smiled, noticing she was already half asleep. He set down her papers and gently picked her up. Cream clutched onto his shirt and nuzzled her face onto his shoulder. Vanilla quietly entered the room and smiled at the sight. Zulu carefully carried Cream upstairs to her room followed by Vanilla. Zulu stepped into her room and looked around, seeing many stuffed animals littered about the room. Vanilla watched from the doorway as Zulu delicately placed Cream onto her bed and tucked her in.

"Goodnight Cream." He whispered to her. As he stood up she reached up her arms to him and he leaned down again. Cream wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug.

"I love you Zulu." She murmured softly and let go of him. Zulu gently kissed her on the head.

"I love you too Cream, thank you." He stood up and walked over to Vanilla, who was smiling and gazing at her daughter. They quietly walked downstairs and found Victor waiting by the door.

"Alright, Victor, let's head out, thanks for dinner Vanilla." Zulu smiled as he opened the door.

"Oh, uh…Zulu? One moment please?" Vanilla asked.

"Sure thing." Zulu motioned Victor to continue outside and shut the door, guessing what it might be about and not wanting Victor to get offended. "If it's about Victor, I'm sorry I-"

"No, no it's not about him…" Vanilla replied. "It's about Cream…"

"Cream? Is something wrong?" Zulu replied. Vanilla could clearly see his concern and giggled.

"No, what she said to you up there in her room, and how you responded, means the world to me as a mother. The way you treat her and act around her, you don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Oh." Zulu said, scratching the back of his head. "It's the least I can do. I should be thanking you both really. You two have been so welcoming to me ever since I got here, and have helped me feel better about myself, showing me I'm not just the mindless weapon I thought I was."

"Such a gentleman." Vanilla sighed softly to herself. "Could you…um…do one more thing for me?"

"Consider it done." Zulu replied with a smile.

"Could…um…could you kn-kneel down?" She asked timidly.

"Kneel down? Sure." Zulu dropped down onto his knees. "How's th-" Vanilla didn't let him finish as she stepped forward and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. Zulu blushed bright red and didn't move, unsure of what to do. Vanilla then stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek before stepping back from him.

"I…uh…well that's never happened to me before." Zulu managed to say. "That was…well…" He blushed and smiled at her. "Just give me a warning next time." He stood up and opened the door. "Sweet dreams Vanilla, see you soon." She gave him a smile and shut the door behind him, resting her head against it.

"Cream may not be the only one." She sighed.

Zulu walked out to the street where Victor was waiting. He glanced around and looked up at Victor.

"So, have you thought at all about what I said?" He asked.

"Yes si- I mean Zulu." Victor muttered.

"Ah, gonna call me by name now huh? Good, I prefer that to sir. Sir makes me sound like I'm better than you." Zulu chuckled.

"Well you are the leader."

"Leader schmeader." Zulu laughed as he started walking. "We are a team. Teams are created because the whole is greater than each of the parts individually. We all had our strengths and weaknesses."

"Your weakness being that you come up with the shittiest jokes ever?"

"Are you actually trying to throw jabs at me?!" Zulu exclaimed in mock shock. "Victor! Who knew you had a funny bone!"

"Yes, be amazed." Victor replied in monotone. "Course I probably won't have it for much longer."

"Oh is that so? And why, pray tell, is that?"

"Because I would feel amused stabbing you with it and saying that I killed you with the funniest part of my body." Victor replied in a bored, uninterested tone. What he didn't expect was Zulu to collapse to the ground laughing hysterically. After a minute or two Zulu calmed down enough to stand.

"Woo! Great one!" He cried, throwing his arm around Victor's shoulders. "You know." Zulu said, turning serious. "When I first got here, I felt like a horrible person. I had met all these kind animals and they were all so friendly and nice. Yet there I was, a weapon, a killer, intruding on their world." Victor noticed Zulu's voice grow solemn. "Cream and Vanilla have been like angels, giving me a different view of myself. When I blew up on you earlier, I don't want you to feel like I did. I'm sure you feel that way, and have felt that way for a long time. This is a whole new page for us. We are out of the program, out of the war zone. I know there's more to you than killing and violence."

"You're right Zulu. I just need some time."

"Don't sweat it. I want you to do it for you, not for me or anyone else here. So take your time, figure out what's going on with you at your own pace. You're a fellow brother in arms, don't hold back, talk to me if you need to."

"You know, for being such an annoying asshole at times, you really can be a mature leader when you want to be." Victor admitted.

"Glad we could close the rift between us a bit, because we are gonna need to be on the same page for what we are up against." Zulu said seriously.

"Agreed, so what's the plan?"

"Starting tomorrow, we take the offensive." Zulu growled.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 7**

 **Quick update for you guys! So things are heating up a bit, in multiple ways. I've always been a honest person and stories that have characters beat around the bush and avoid saying things that they should say always bugged me. Course everyone has their style and I'm positive my way of doing things bothers plenty of people haha. But yeah things are moving along and new angles are being introduced. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review and let me know what you guys think or want to see!**

It was early morning when Zulu started his briefing of what he was planning. Gathered with him were Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Silver, Knuckles, Rogue, and Victor. He had decided to leave out Amy and Blaze because he wasn't sure he could properly utilize them, not knowing their combat capabilities well enough.

"Alright everyone, let's begin." Zulu started, spreading out an internal map of the G.U.N. headquarters that Shadow and Rogue had made. "Our main objective is to break in, find the portal room, and hold it while Tails hacks in and downloads the portal schematics and anything else he will need to make one. After that we get out." Zulu paused, making sure everyone was with him. "My plan so far is that we breach through the roof and drop down directly into the room with the portal, we hold out until Tails is done, then we split into two teams, one team escorting Tails back up through where we entered and escaping, while the second team fights through the complex to a nearby exit, drawing attention and hopefully taking enough pressure off of Tails' team so they can escape without much trouble." He finished.

"Sounds risky for the team fighting their way out." Sonic said, scratching his head.

"It is, that's why Victor and I are going to be the ones to do it." Zulu replied grimly. "I'm not going to order anyone to stay back with us."

"You two can't be that arrogant and stupid." Shadow snarled. "I'm joining you."

"It's not arrogance, and we will gladly welcome your support. It's just that I would never give someone a more dangerous role in a mission if I was capable of doing it."

"Count me in also!" Sonic gave Zulu a thumbs up.

"No offense Sonic, but I want you outside escorting Tails. It'll be tight quarters inside and Silver's abilities will be invaluable, if he's up for it of course. You will need to be a distraction outside while Rogue, Knuckles, and Tails get away."

"I'm up for it alright." Silver said, giving Zulu a nod.

"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You're taking me out of the action?"

"You have flying abilities, although limited. You will be a good assurance outside if things go bad. You also pair up with Sonic really well, so you two could hold off long enough for Rogue and Tails to flee, then escape yourselves."

"I understand." Knuckles groaned.

"You've improved a ton since I first met you Knuckles. Think of it this way. I see you as a much more versatile asset than simply a close quarter's pair of fists. Prove me right." Knuckles perked up at the praise.

"I'm your guy!" He said proudly.

"Sorry about not involving you much Rogue." Zulu added apologetically. "I'm sure you're quite capable of handling yourself, I've just never seen you fight and I'm afraid I'd just put you in a bad spot, and you're my best choice for protecting Tails."

"It's fine hun." She gave Zulu a wink. "I get what you mean."

"Excellent." Zulu said confidently. "We do it tonight. So let's train hard and practice this morning, then rest in the afternoon. Tonight will be rough, I want everyone well prepared."

After sparring and practice, Zulu was in his makeshift room getting his gear ready. He had laid out his jumpsuit and special body armor, with a newly repaired chest piece, on the floor and was currently cleaning his pistol. Victor was also in his room, checking over his jumpsuit and armor. He had no weapons whatsoever, and wondered if he should have brought the stuff he had stolen back in Seattle. Zulu still had his knife, but Victor guessed he would "acquire" weapons during the mission, so he didn't ask Zulu if he could borrow it.

"You're oddly quiet cleaning that gun." Victor spoke up, remembering that he should try and open up more.

"I suppose I am." Zulu replied in a strange tone of voice. Victor wasn't sure he liked it. "I'm just contemplating the outcomes of our mission." Zulu continued.

"Well, we will be able to transport back home." Victor said.

"Isn't it strange, G.U.N. had dealings with our program, supplying combat drugs for research and development. They don't strike me as the kind of agency to do that for free, so what kind of deal was made? Why are they so keen on hunting us down?" Zulu asked no one in particular.

"My guess is that Jarving and his man in Japan know a bit more about the deal than they let on." Victor replied.

"Hopefully we will be able to ask them about it."

It was dark and chilly on the roof of the G.U.N. complex as everyone huddled around Zulu, who was crouched in the middle of them. It was silent as he showed them where they were in accordance to the map he had taped to his arm. They stood directly above the room where the portal was suspected to be. Rogue and Shadow had taken out the guards on the ground and around the roof earlier so everyone had a clear spot to scale up the wall.

"All right everyone." Zulu removed a small explosive from a pack he was carrying. "Soon as this blows it's going to be nonstop fighting until we are all clear from here and back at Tails' place. You guys ready?" Everyone nodded. "All right, Tails let's hope your bomb does the job." Zulu placed it down and waved everyone back. He pressed a button and leapt back. The explosive device beeped three times and exploded, creating a moderate sized hole. "Everybody in! Go! Go! Go!" Zulu called, sprinting forward and jumping in first.

He landed feet first, rolling to avoid injuring himself and drew his gun, quickly scanning the room as Victor and the others joined him. In the center of the room was a large podium with an oval ring suspended above it that Zulu and Victor recognized as a portal. Wires and cords trailed from it to five separate desks that surrounded the podium. There were three people in the room wearing white lab coats, who raised their hands and stepped back when Zulu targeted them.

"Get back!" Zulu barked, causing them all to run out of the room. Alarms were echoing everywhere and yelling could be heard outside the room. "Tails, get to it!" He called, and the fox scurried over to a console and plugged a small device into it. Tails began hacking in and looking for engineering and development files. Victor moved up by one of the doors and waited to disarm anyone who tried to enter. Zulu trained his gun on a second door while Shadow and Silver covered the third. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rogue stood around Tails, guarding him.

The door next to Victor burst open and an armed man tried to enter with four others. The first had his gun ripped from his hands by Victor and was quickly knocked out, Victor slamming the butt of the gun into the side of the man's head. Victor then leaned around the corner of the doorway and fired into the remaining four who got bottle necked. Screams of pain and calls for backup began as Zulu started to open fire at men trying to gain entry through his door. Silver used his powers to hold his and Shadow's assigned door shut as men banged on it from out in the hall. Sonic watched as Zulu and Victor defended their positions with brutal efficiency, shooting only to kill.

Suddenly a wall exploded and men poured through the breach. Shadow was quickly there to engage along with Sonic, and both stemmed the tide as best they could. Zulu and Victor were unable to aid them, still defending their assigned entry points. Knuckles soon joined Sonic and Shadow, and they slowly began beating back the G.U.N. forces.

"I've found the files guys! Give me some time to move them to my storage device!" Tails called out over the fray.

"Understood!" Zulu yelled. "You guys prepare to cut and run! Victor, support Shadow with that wall breach, I'll cover the doors!"

"On it!" Victor yelled, firing a quick burst through the door and sprinting over to Shadow while Zulu crouched behind a desk where he could shoot at both open doors. Sonic and Knuckles disengaged and retreated to where Rogue and Tails were.

"Alright I'm done!" Tails exclaimed, removing his device and putting it into a pouch he had brought.

"Get going! Silver, blow the door and clear our exit! Shadow back him up!" Zulu yelled. Rogue grabbed Knuckles and flew up through the hole while Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and followed behind.

"Last one home has to spar with everyone against them simultaneously!" Sonic called, trying to hide his concern as he watched tons of soldiers pour into the room.

Silver used his powers to blow the door off its hinges and shoot it back into the hallway, crushing any men stuck in its path. Shadow bolted through the opening and dispatched the stragglers. Victor and Zulu were firing into the surge of enemy forces who were flooding the room. They covered for each other as they retreated until they made it to the doorway and stepped into the hallway. Victor kept firing into the room for a moment then ran after the others as they sprinted down the hall. Zulu and Victor watched the rear and kept the pursuing mob at bay. Shadow and Silver cleared out anyone ahead of them as they moved towards their set exit point. They got to the door and Silver started trying to rip it open. Zulu and Victor took up defensive positions and covered two hallways, while Shadow watched a third.

"Dang! It's really reinforced, give me a minute." Silver groaned.

"Don't take too long, here they come!" Zulu yelled. Victor opened fire as the forces barreling down his hallway got to close. Zulu began firing at a soldier who was approaching faster than the rest, but the man started dodging his shots. "Shit! We got trouble!" Zulu growled, unable to put the advancing man down. "What the Hell is this g-" the black clad soldier slammed into Zulu, knocking him back.

The man drew two knives and lunged at Zulu, who barely managed to draw his own and parry. The man was just as fast if not faster than Zulu. Zulu focused hard, blocking a blow to his leg, then immediately ducking a slice directed for his neck. The man brought up his knee and slammed it into Zulu's face, snapping his head back. Zulu instinctively blocked another slash to his neck then felt pain burn in his side. The man had reversed his grip and stabbed Zulu just under the left side of his rib-cage, which wasn't protected by armor. Zulu dropped onto his back and kicked the man's knee, making a sickening crack. The man's leg hyper-extended and he cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground. Zulu immediately reached over and stabbed the man in the chest then rolled over on top of him. He brought his knife up and jammed it up under the man's chin and into his head, killing him instantly.

"Zulu!" Victor yelled, running over and crouching beside him, firing down the hallway. "Silver just got the door open, you ok?"

"Yeah I'm…" Zulu groaned and coughed up blood, clutching his side.

"Dammit, that doesn't look good, come on!" Victor wrapped Zulu's right arm over his shoulder and stood up, shooting down the hall as he moved Zulu outside. Shadow ran over to help with Zulu while Silver blocked the incoming fire as they retreated away from the building into some nearby woods. They kept going for a few minutes before stopping to look over Zulu.

"You with me Zulu?" Victor asked, examining the stab wound.

"Don't baby me Ah!" Zulu winced and coughed up more blood.

"Damn he isn't looking good." Shadow growled.

"This isn't a normal stab wound either, look here. What's that clear liquid that's leaking out?" Victor asked, growing more worried.

"I don't know but we need to get him out of here now." Shadow said urgently. "The knife was probably coated in something."

"Can you carry him? You're faster than we are." Victor asked.

"What about chaos control?" Added Silver.

"I don't know what effect it will have on Zulu but I'll try." Shadow nodded and took Zulu from Victor. "You two hurry up and don't get stuck out here. Chaos Control!" In a flash, Shadow was gone.

"What the fuck?" Victor asked in awe.

"I'll explain later, let's get moving." Silver replied.

Tails and the others had arrived safely back at his house to the relief of Amy and Blaze, who were the only others aware of the mission.

"I hope the others are ok." Amy sighed, feeling concerned.

"Don't worry! I'm sure their-" a flash of light interrupted him. Everyone gasped when they saw Shadow clutching onto Zulu, who was unconscious.

"Oh my God!" Amy screamed.

"What happened!?" Sonic exclaimed, hurrying over to help Shadow with Zulu, who was bleeding heavily.

"I'll explain later." Shadow growled. "Victor and Silver are fine and are making their way back. I need to go get Vanilla." He chaos controlled out of the area and the others quickly brought Zulu to their make shift medical area.

"Looks like he got stabbed!" Blaze commented.

"Who would try and stab Zulu?" Amy asked the air.

"I don't think this is any old stab wound guys." Tails added.

Vanilla had just finished some paperwork for the hospital and was getting ready for bed when she heard a familiar voice call her from downstairs.

"Vanilla!" She hurried to the top of the stairs and looked down to see Shadow of all people standing there.

"Goodness, you're going to wake up Cream with-"

"Vanilla its Zulu." Shadow cut her off. Vanilla felt her stomach drop as she saw the look on his face.

"N-no…Zulu, what happened?!" She clutched her chest and stammered. Shadow didn't expect this reaction.

"Momma, what's all the loud talking about?" Cream mumbled, emerging from her room.

"I need you to come with me, he needs help. I'll explain when we get there now hurry!" Shadow barked.

"Go back to bed sweetheart, just an urgent work thing I have to take care of."

"Why is Shadow here? What's going on?" Cream continued, beginning to sound worried.

"We don't have time for this!" Shadow barked. "Cream, get down here, Vanilla get your things!" Cream hopped down the stairs while Vanilla disappeared for a moment and reappeared with her work bag as well as another larger bag. She hurried down the stairs and stood by Shadow, her heart thundering away in her chest and her stomach feeling sour as concern and worry ate away at her. In a flash they appeared in Tails' house.

"He's in the medical room." Shadow lead the way and found everyone gathered in the room, save for Victor and Silver.

"Oh my god!" Vanilla gasped and hurried over. "What happened?!" She asked again, sounding desperate.

"Zulu!" Cream cried, trying to get free from Shadow as he restrained her.

"Cream please, come sit with us, let your mom work." Amy said soothingly and offered a seat next to her. Cream ran over and hugged Amy, never taking her eyes off of Zulu.

"It was his mission plan. We break into G.U.N. and steal their portal plans." Shadow started. "The first part went off fine, no injuries. Tails and his escort escaped while Silver, Victor, Zulu, and I held off the troops." He continued. "We made it to our exit point, but the doors were more reinforced than we had anticipated, so it took Silver more time to pry them open. Zulu and Victor were holding off the troops when Zulu got rushed by a guy wielding two knives. They had a short engagement. Zulu got stabbed but he managed to kill the guy. Victor dragged him outside and noticed Zulu wasn't doing well. We think that the man's knives were coated in something. We saw a strange clear liquid around his wound." Shadow finished.

"You mean to tell me he expected to hold off the entire G.U.N. complex with four people?!" Vanilla exclaimed, carefully examining and cleaning Zulu's wound.

"Actually his original plan was just him and Victor drawing their attention while the rest of us escaped." Sonic clarified. "He said he would never ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself." Vanilla shook her head in response and gasped as she peered deeper into the wound.

"I think I've found that liquid." Vanilla stated. She used a swab and wiped some up with it. "Tails, please examine this."

"Yes ma'am!" He took the swab and ran out of the room. Vanilla worked in silence, focusing hard and doing her best to keep from crying. After a half hour she took a deep breath and set down her tools.

"I've cleaned the wound as best as I could and stopped the bleeding." She declared. She turned around to see that Silver and Victor had arrived and were watching her. She looked down to Cream and motioned for her. Cream jumped into her arms.

"Will Zulu be ok momma?" Cream mumbled, burying her face into Vanilla's chest.

"Yes darling." She stroked Cream's head and tried to retain her composure. "Alright, I suggest we all give Zulu space and let him rest, so everyone out." Vanilla struggled to say. Everyone quietly left the room until it was just her, Cream, and Victor.

"I'm sorry ma'am." Victor said solemnly, surprising Vanilla. "I know you probably blame me for him getting hurt. I know how much he means to you both." He continued. Victor knelt down and looked at Cream, who peaked out of her mother's embrace at him. "I'm sorry to you as well Cream."

"I don't blame you Victor." Vanilla said gently. "Why would I?" Vanilla's eyes widened when he chuckled.

"Ma'am, I don't know if the others can see it, or even if that naïve moron on the table can see it, but I can see it very clearly."

"See what?" Vanilla started blushing.

"Well Zulu mentioned to me that you two were like angels, helping him see himself as something other than a weapon. He told me he would rip my throat out if I ever hurt Cream as we walked to her school to get her. It was clear to me how much he adored her." Victor said. "Seeing Zulu and Cream interact with each other throughout the day, you love him don't you Cream?" He asked with a much gentler voice than Vanilla thought possible.

"Mmhmm." Cream nodded. "With my whole heart." She declared.

"As I thought." Victor smiled. "But you see Vanilla, at dinner I thought that you guys looked like one big happy family, and I then noticed how you were looking at Zulu, and I realized that you love him too." Vanilla made a slight gasp and put a hand to her heart.

"I-I wasn't aware you were so good at reading people." She murmured shyly.

"You love him too momma?" Cream asked excitedly.

"I do believe so darling." Vanilla sighed.

"That's why I thought you both would blame me." Victor finished. "I would understand if you did." Vanilla stood and walked over to the table Zulu was on. Gently, she caressed his cheek and admired his face. Cream hopped up and sat by his head.

"So handsome." She sighed. Victor stepped up beside her.

"I wouldn't know ma'am." He said, causing her to blush. She softly traced his jaw and brushed her fingers over his lips.

"Has he always been so reckless?" Vanilla asked.

"You could say that. He always assigned himself the most dangerous job. Always the point man, first one to take fire, first into the fray. He also made sure he was always the last man out, covering our retreat. He "died" all the time in training, but in doing so the rest of the team always made it through." He sighed. "The mission where we were ambushed was our first actual mission, with no training wheels." Victor trailed off.

"You were by his side weren't you?" Vanilla asked.

"Until I got hit. We were the last two standing. I got hit and knocked off the platform. I ran for a door to take cover. I heard him scream. It was a sound of rage and anguish. I busted through the door expecting a room to hide in but fell down a disused elevator shaft instead. Then everything exploded."

"Were you by his side today?"

"Yes. I watched his fight with the man who stabbed him. All I could do was keep shooting at the advancing troops and trust he could kill the guy."

"Well I'm putting my trust in you to keep him safe." Vanilla muttered. "Cream and I are counting on you." She looked up at Victor with pleading eyes.

"Zulu is a hard man to kill, let me tell you. He's also very determined about protecting people. I promise I will do my best to back him up, wherever he leads me." Victor saw the relief in the rabbits face as she gave him a small smile and gazed back at Zulu. "Hey, Cream." Victor said. Cream jumped slightly and looked over at him. "Come here." She gave Vanilla a questioning look. Vanilla nodded and Cream walked over to Victor. To her he was still kind of unknown and scary.

"Yes?" She asked timidly. He leaned in really close and whispered in her ear deadly serious.

"You um…haven't been attacked by any furniture or appliances today have you?" Cream snorted and started laughing. Victor smiled and gave the unconscious Zulu a wink. He wished Cream and Vanilla goodnight and left the room, headed for Tails lab.

"Still up huh?" He said to Tails as he entered the room.

"Yeah, just finalizing the results of whatever was on that knife." Tails replied tiredly.

"What have you got so far?" Victor asked, walking over beside the fox.

"It's a toxin that I haven't ever seen before. Must be something new G.U.N. is developing."

"A new toxin they're developing? Sounds bad." Victor said.

"Well I've tested for any harmful bacteria or chemicals that are usually in toxins. I've found nothing that could be really harmful."

"What?" Victor replied, more than a bit confused. "What the Hell is the point?"

"I have found a lot of chemicals that are used in sedatives and tranquilizers. My best guess is the toxin is meant to completely disable someone. The ratios of the chemicals are staggering. A normal person would have been knocked out as soon as this entered their body, and would be out for a very long time. This stuff is like a liquid coma." Tails explained.

"So that's G.U.N.'s plan. They want to neutralize us and capture us without a fight. That doesn't explain who the guy was that rushed Zulu. He moved and fought way to well for a normal person." Victor thought out loud.

"Well we should be on guard tonight. They could scramble up a team and come try and take Zulu while he's out." Tails warned.

"Don't worry, I'll stay up and be ready." Victor growled, leaving the room.

Vanilla sat by Zulu while Cream had curled up by his head. About an hour ago Zulu had developed a burning fever. Vanilla guessed his body was fighting off whatever had been forcibly put into his system and had laid a cool, wet cloth on his forehead. She had just checked his temperature and noted it was dropping back to a normal level. Vanilla wiped his brow tenderly and felt relieved. Victor had stopped by earlier to tell her that Zulu had been given a high concentration of sedatives and to expect a high fever. Victor had explained that their augmented bodies were used to many things and recovered much quicker than normal, so the sedative was not something to worry about.

She got up to get a pillow and a blanket and returned to slide it under Zulu's head. Vanilla gently lifted Zulu's head and slid the pillow underneath, lowering his head down onto it.

"You know." A weak voice croaked. "If you're gonna snap my neck, try not smelling so nice. Ruins the assassin vibe." Vanilla gasped and covered her mouth with her hands to not wake up Cream with a laughing fit. Hearing his voice flooded her with relief and joy. "That was a very feminine noise you just made." Zulu continued, too weak to open his eyes to see who he was talking too. "I'm about to get killed by a girl aren't I? Girls have cooties." He mumbled on, still a bit out of it from the remaining sedatives his body hadn't purged from his system. Vanilla dared not speak just yet, enjoying Zulu's weird conversation with his "assassin".

"Hey, you smell like someone I know." Vanilla heard him try to sniff the air. "Did you steal her perfume?" Vanilla let out a snort, unable to contain herself any longer.

"No I didn't, it's just how I smell." Vanilla replied quietly.

"Hey, I know that voice…good God…you stole Vanilla's tonsils!" Zulu accusingly declared.

"First off, you're a very strange man, second, tonsils don't work that way." Vanilla replied, trying her best not laugh. Vanilla saw Zulu slowly try and open his eyes. "Don't push yourself Zulu." She said softly.

"Look, if I'm going to Heaven, I've gotta see what you look like before you take me up there, angel." Vanilla blushed and watched as he finally cracked his eyes open.

"Well great, proof that angels exist is right in front of me and my eyes are acting like a camera trying to photograph Big Foot." Vanilla giggled at the obscure reference and saw Zulu open his eyes fully and blink a few times. He made her feel like a little girl with a crush. She found his bizarre commentary strangely cute and childish.

"Sorry Zulu, no angel, just me." She whispered.

"Vanilla?" He asked, squinting hard at her. "Dang, I'm already in Heaven then. Stupid angel." Vanilla blushed a deep red and hid her face.

"Oh please." Vanilla replied. "Hush. You need rest."

"Could I get some water?" Zulu asked.

"Of course, I'll be right back." She hurried off and returned with a glass of water. She cradled Zulu's head and slowly tilted the glass for him so he could drink.

"Ah." He sighed. "That felt good on the throat." His voice sounded much better. "How long have I been out?"

"Quite a few hours. Everyone was pretty worried." She replied.

"I'm sorry." Zulu said.

"As long as you're ok, everything is fine. Everyone else made it home without any injuries." Vanilla felt tears start running down her cheeks and she tried to muffle a sob.

"Vanilla? Are you crying?" Zulu asked. "What's wrong?" Suddenly she leaned down and hugged him, hiding her face in his chest.

"I'm…so happy…you're ok Zulu." She sobbed.

"Hey now." He said softly. "I'm not worth crying over."

"You are to me Zulu. Cream hasn't left the room since we got here, and neither have I." Vanilla replied, sitting up and wiping her eyes.

"Cream is here too? Oh geez, I must have really worried her."

"She's curled up next to your head. We were both very worried."

"Aww, she is just the sweetest thing. I really do love her. Wish I could move my head to see her."

"Yes, she is the best daughter I could have ever asked for, and well…um…" Vanilla blushed and looked away.

"I'm not sure why you're blushing, but if it's because of whatever you're looking at, remember I can't see over there."

"No, I'm blushing because…well…geez look what you've done to me. I feel like a little girl." Vanilla's cheeks grew redder and she stood up and walked out of Zulu's eyesight.

"Hey! Not fair!" Zulu said. Suddenly Vanilla reappeared, her face inches from his, filling up his entire view.

"Cream isn't the only one who loves you." She whispered, then quickly pecked him gently on the lips and vanished from his sight again. It was quiet for what felt like hours. Vanilla was started to regret her actions when Zulu started talking again.

"I know you're still here Vanilla. I must say I'm very disappointed in you. I never thought you would be the type of woman to take advantage of a completely helpless and willing man." Her ears had drooped until the last few words he said kicked in. She stood up and timidly approached the table he was on. She walked up beside where his head was and looked down at him shyly.

"W-willing?" She asked.

"I told you to warn me before you did something like that again didn't I? Sure you popped up right in my face and told me you loved me, which would be quite the warning that something was coming my way, but how about a warning for the warning nex-" Vanilla put a finger over Zulu's mouth to silence him and leaned in close to his face. She didn't say anything, just stared into his eyes. Slowly she removed her finger from his mouth and took her time admiring his features closely.

She had never really realized how handsome he was. Maybe it was her newly developed feelings of love for him that brought them to her attention. Zulu's short black hair was messy and unkempt. He had pointy ears which made him look more aggressive in her opinion. He had dark eyebrows, but they weren't thick or bushy. His jaw was strong and defined, with a five-o-clock shadow tracing it handsomely. He kept his neck clean shaven. Then she gazed into his eyes. They were such a dark brown that they looked black. What really surprised her were the flecks of bright crimson red around his pupils.

"Not to uh…spoil your moment doing, um, whatever you're doing." Zulu jarred her from her thoughts. "But um…you're really being quite a tease."

"Oh? Am I?" She leaned in, almost so their noses touched, before standing up straight. She desperately wanted to kiss him, but she felt that it wouldn't be as satisfying having their first kiss when he couldn't move at all. Still, she was enjoying torturing him. She giggled at the thought.

"You just wait." Zulu growled, his voice getting stronger.

The next morning Zulu was able to get up and walk around a bit. He walked to the hangar to find Victor and the others sparring with each other. Zulu sat down on a bench and watched, still feeling too groggy and slow to try fighting. He also wanted to give his wound time to heal. He coached and called out tips from his bench as the sparring sessions progressed through the morning. Victor ran through a rough session with Sonic, helping him to deal with aggressive opponents. Victor used Zulu's knife and Sonic was unarmed. Victor was brutal and didn't hesitate or give Sonic any mercy. Twice Victor had surprised Sonic during a pause in the fighting and "killed" him.

After all the training was done Zulu and Victor left the hangar and headed for Cream's school. Vanilla and Cream had left earlier in the morning before Zulu had woken up and he was excited to show Cream he was ok. He also had a score to settle with Vanilla. As they walked, they were unaware of a sniper who had his scope's cross hair centered on Zulu's head. He watched them walk, not moving an inch. He was in a hotel room about half a mile from where they were currently walking. He kept his sights trained on Zulu, but didn't pull the trigger. Suddenly he saw movement and sighted in on the source, about half a block behind the two men. The man sighed as he watched some spandex clad biker peddle out onto the sidewalk and ride away from Zulu and Victor.

He felt like watching these guys was pointless. They were apparently elite super soldiers, so couldn't they handle themselves? His thoughts were interrupted by a bang coming from outside his room. He heard a lot of feet running around and the occasional bang of a door being kicked open. He sprang into action, folding up his rifle's bipod and placing it inside a large case. He drew a small pistol with what looked like a harpoon jutting out of the barrel and shot it into the wall, then clipped the gun to his belt. He grabbed all his ammo and gear and threw it into the case, slamming it shut and strapping it to his back. Without hesitation he sprinted for the window and jumped, smashing through it just as his door was kicked open. The harpoon in the wall held firm as he swung into the wall of the building.

He began running down the wall and bullets started flying past him. He reached the ground and unclipped the gun from his belt, running away and leaving it hanging there. By the time the men reached the ground floor and got outside he was long gone. The gun being the only sign that the mysterious sniper had ever been there.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 8**

 **Hey guys! Nice long chapter for you to enjoy. A lot is happening. I know it feels like a flood of new stuff, but I hope I tied it together for you guys well enough. I'm starting to finish up establishing the different factions, allies and enemies, as well as going a bit more in depth for some characters, giving you guys better view of who they are. This chapter does contain some harsh language and a mature situation so be warned. Also, for you romantics who stuck through it this long, there is more for you here! I've also started listing some of my OC's on my profile if you want to read more about them, I'll continue updating their Bio's with more information for you guys who want to know more than what the story says. Also feel free to ask me any questions as well! Thanks to all of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed! I hope you continue to enjoy my work!**

It was a warm sunny day, perfect for being outside. People were out jogging, walking dogs, or riding bicycles. No one took much notice of Alan as he walked along the sidewalk nonchalantly, wearing black cargo shorts and a button up shirt. To the average passerby the only thing that stood out was the large black case he had slung over his shoulder. It was designed to look like a large cello case so no one would become overly suspicious. In truth, however, the case contained a vast amount of weaponry and gear for pretty much any scenario. In it, Alan carried a heavily modified G.U.N. sniper rifle, a pair of handguns, a knife, body armor, different scopes and optics, rappelling equipment, camouflage, ammo, and a variety of selective tools.

Alan was a G.U.N. Special Forces operative, and one of the best snipers in the force. He had seen a lot of combat, fighting on the front lines for the entire duration of the Black Arms conflict even though he had only been recruited a year before the fighting started. Alan had been deployed at the onset of the Black Arms invasion and put directly into the heart of the fighting. He had been part of the first company of troops deployed to repel the aliens, and was the only one man who survived from that company. During the conflict Alan had had two encounters with Shadow the hedgehog.

The first was when his company was wiped out. They had dropped from 250 men down to around 50 and were making a stand at a subway station. Civilians were using the subways to flee to safer more secure parts of the city. Alan was on a rooftop, using a large caliber rifle to pick off the bigger aliens while the troops below concentrated fire on smaller, more numerous targets. As the aliens pushed forward Alan was forced to go down to the ground level before they swarmed his building. More aliens began flooding the streets and they were quickly overrun. He lost his rifle during the melee and fought with a knife, getting swiped across the face and receiving a long scar that ran from the outer corner of his left eye down to his lip. He fought for his life until a large flash sent the aliens flying back.

He had looked around and saw he was the only one left standing. It was then he saw Shadow finishing off a large alien. He had heard there was a dangerous black hedgehog he needed to watch out for and guessed that was him. He raised his knife but the hedgehog just shook his head and disappeared. Alan had wondered why such a bad hedgehog would save him. The second time Alan encountered Shadow he was deep behind enemy lines. After he had been saved, he stayed in that area, having found his rifle, and kept harassing the aliens, picking off bigger aliens he guessed were more important. What he didn't know was that he was the only man still fighting in that half of the city.

He was on a second story rooftop when Shadow appeared in the street below, attracting a large group of aliens. He covered Shadow's back and approached him after the skirmish.

"You're still out here fighting? Thought everyone in this part of the city was dead or really good at hiding." Shadow had asked him."

"It's my job." Alan had replied.

"You are aware you're the only one left out here right? The rest of your forces cowered and retreated like pathetic sheep before wolves." Shadow said in a disgusted manner.

"I'm just doing what's right. What are you doing?" Alan shot back.

"Hmph." Shadow growled, crossing his arms.

"Well I'm Alan." Alan said. "I've heard about you, but it that seems what I heard was wrong."

"Shadow…watch your back Alan." With that Shadow was gone. Alan remained in that area of the city until the Black Arms were defeated. There is a small plaque at the subway he had defended which honored his company's last stand. Written on it is an account from a witness who described what happened. Also mentioned on the plaque is a soldier who some survivors, who weren't able to escape and went into hiding, claimed to have seen still operating in the area. Alan was never officially recognized or rewarded for his actions during the conflict, and only a few people are even aware of what he had done.

One of the people who does know is his current commanding officer. Her name is Naytalia Brystol. She had heard of his encounters with Shadow and reached out to him. Brystol had started a secret sect. within G.U.N. meant to keep tabs on any plans G.U.N. had involving Shadow. She gathered people who felt that Shadow was misunderstood and not the bad weapon the higher ups made him out to be, and had them monitor G.U.N. activities involving Shadow in case someone tried to incriminate him. Her search for people sympathetic to Shadow lead her to Alan, who told her about his two encounters with the dark hedgehog. He agreed with her cause and joined her group, acting as a field agent for her, and going out to investigate different G.U.N. activities if they were suspicious.

A week ago Brystol had informed her team that G.U.N. was after a man who had appeared during an E.M.P. phenomena, and Shadow and Rogue were covering for him. She began an investigation using her team to try and find out who in G.U.N. was in charge of the man hunt. One of Brystol's moles reported that a small team of operatives had runn into the suspected man and one was critically injured. Alan was dispatched to a low rent hotel in the area where the attack happened. Since then he had been monitoring the man as he walked with the hedgehog known as Silver to pick up a bunny who Brystol had told him is a friend of Sonic's team and lives nearby.

He was told not to intervene unless absolutely necessary if something were to happen. Brystol's secret sect. was unknown to everyone outside of it. Not even Shadow and Rogue were aware of their hidden allies. Secrecy was their only protection from the brutal internal politics of G.U.N. and the less people knew the better. The investigation hit a standstill as no more moves were made to apprehend the man until a second portal phenomena occurred, and Brystol was told that three strike teams were dispatched to investigate, but again, they couldn't discover who issued the orders or who was leading the teams.

Alan was also sent to the spot by Brystol and watched as the G.U.N. troops engaged a large man in an alleyway. He was dressed like a regular trooper to blend in and observed the firefight from underneath one of the trucks. Seeing Shadow, Sonic, and the first man join the fight, Alan made his move. He slid a magnetic clamp with a tracker attached to it out of his pocked and stuck it to the underside of the truck. He then rolled out from underneath and ran up to the driver's door and pounded on it, yelling at him to leave. The truck sped off and Alan slipped into an alleyway as the fighting ceased. He ran long and hard until he was clear of the area and pulled off his uniform, throwing it in a dumpster. He made his way back to the hotel he was staying at before calling Brystol to report that she could track the truck, which in the end lead nowhere, since it was found abandoned in a parking lot.

After that Alan was back to watching as now the man was joined by the new arrival instead of Silver, still walking to pick up the bunny Cream. Alan walked down the street casually. No one would have guessed he had leapt out of a window and escaped a G.U.N. raid only twenty minutes prior. He wondered how he had been found out, and was concerned that Brystol's secret operation might have been discovered. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pulled one out, sliding it into his mouth. He pocketed the pack and pulled out his zippo lighter. He flicked it open with a metallic "ting" and lit the cigarette. He flicked it shut and pocketed the lighter, taking a long draw from the cigarette.

He pinched the cigarette between his fingers and let his arm drop lazily to his side. He exhaled the smoke with a sigh and brought the cigarette up to his mouth again. He held it between his lips and glanced around at random people as he walked. He was lost in thought about what had happened at the hotel and didn't notice the woman in front of him until it was too late. He knocked her over easily and barely staggered at all.

"Oh geez, I'm terribly sorry." He said, reaching down to help her up. She was an attractive woman, long brown hair, pale skin, big hazel eyes, and a short, petite figure. She was wearing simple, yet professional, business attire. She sported a navy blue button up blouse, which hid her cleavage surprisingly well when Alan noticed she was quite well endowed, a black pencil skirt, simple black transparent leggings, and black heels.

"Hmph, well you should be." She scoffed, looking up at him suspiciously. She looked the man standing in front of her over. He was tall and muscular, but pretty lanky as well. He had red hair and was sporting the standard military crew cut. He also had a scar running from his left eye to his upper lip. He was definitely not a man she wanted to have stick around for too long. She ignored his hand and stood up on her own, brushing herself off. She looked up to see he had vanished and turned around to see him walking away like nothing happened.

"Yeah walk away asshole!" She called. Alan ignored her and kept walking until screeching tires caught his attention. He turned around, looking past the woman who was still glaring at him and saw a black truck fast approaching. He didn't have time to get his rifle ready so he turned and sprinted down the sidewalk. The truck quickly caught up with him and pulled up onto the sidewalk in front of him. He ran right up to the driver's door and ripped it open as men started climbing out of the back. Alan slammed the driver's head into the steering wheel and pulled the man partially out of the truck.

"Don't move!" One of the G.U.N. troops yelled as ten of them made a semi-circle around Alan. As Alan turned to address them he violently slammed the truck door on the driver's head, making a sickening wet crunch. The troops flinched and raised their rifles.

"Oops." Alan said casually. He noticed that behind their line the woman from before was standing there watching. "You're still here lady?" He asked her, making a few of the troops glance backwards. In that moment he crouched, slid off his case, and swung it forward by the strap, knocking four of their guns aside. He let go and sent it flying into three more to his left and lunged forward, drawing a hidden knife from his boot. He stabbed a man in the neck, grabbing his gun as he fell. He ripped the knife out and swung it at a second man in the same motion, slitting his throat. He then threw the knife, burying it into another troop's head, before shouldering the gun he had taken and opening fire on the remaining men, killing them all.

"Huh, six seconds." He said to himself, bending down to pick up his case. "Not too bad I suppose." He glanced over at the lady, who was frozen in shock. He opened the truck door and dragged the driver out, dumping his body on the ground. "Hey, you better leave." He said. She didn't reply, just stared down at the bodies. "Hello?" She looked up at him.

"Y-You…you killed them." She stammered.

"Well yeah, but shit happens, you know?" Alan replied nonchalantly.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Look, we need to get out of here, so get in the truck and I'll take you home." He climbed into the truck and gave her a nod. She quickly hurried around and climbed inside, understanding this wasn't the place to stand around and chat. She buckled herself in as he pulled the truck back onto the street. "My name is Alan by the way, don't worry, I won't hurt you or anything." He said, trying to calm her down. "Where do you live?"

"I-I'm Emily. Um…you can drop me off anywhere, I don't live to far." She replied hesitantly. She was clearly afraid of him. Unfortunately for her, he had to make sure he got her home safe.

"Look, I'm sure that you want nothing to do with me, but I can't just drop you off and hope you don't get picked up on your way home, so I'll ask again, where do you live?" Alan asked firmly.

"Fine, a few more blocks from here. I live in an apartment with my boyfriend." She muttered. Alan nodded and followed her directions, pulling into a pretty run down complex. He pulled up outside her building and watched her leave, wanting to make sure she got inside before heading out. She got to the door and as Alan was about to leave he saw a man rip open the door.

"Where the fuck have you been bitch? Get your ass in here!" He yelled at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside, slamming the door behind them.

"Why that son of a bitch." Alan snarled, turning off the truck and stepping out. He walked up to the door and heard a crash from inside, along with crying. He stepped back and kicked the door open, slowly walking inside. He heard noises coming from the bedroom and walked down the hall. He threw open the door to find the man holding Emily down by the neck, trying to take off his belt. Her blouse was ripped open and her leggings had been pulled down.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man demanded, getting up and grabbing a nearby empty bottle. Emily was crying too hard and had mentally removed herself from what was happening to her, thus no noticing Alan's arrival.

"I'm no one." Alan replied grimly.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" He screamed, swinging the bottle at Alan. He caught the man's arm and pivoted so his back was to the raging man. He brought the man's arm over his shoulder and yanked it down, snapping the man's elbow, and making it a gruesome obtuse angle. The man screamed but was quickly silenced as Alan snapped his arm back and smashed his elbow into the man's face, knocking him out. Alan slowly approached Emily, who had curled up into a fetal position and was sobbing.

"Emily, it's me, Alan." He spoke gently, kneeling down in front of her. She didn't reply or move. Dealing with emotionally traumatized, partially undressed women was not part of his training, and he had no idea how to help her. Alan reached out to pat her shoulder but pulled his arm back, not sure that touching her was a good idea. He stood up and ripped the covers off the bed, draping them over the top of her. He turned to the man on the floor and stepped over to him. Reaching down he grabbed the man's head and violently twisted it to the side, snapping his neck. He tossed the body onto the bed and wrapped it up with the remaining bedsheets. He threw the covered body over his shoulder and walked outside. He walked towards the nearest dumpster which also had a middle aged woman dumping out her garbage.

She watched him suspiciously and looked back to see which apartment he had come from. She knew who lived there, but this wasn't the terrible man who did. Alan noticed her suspicious and worried look and gave her a smile as he dumped the sheets into the dumpster, making an obviously louder noise than they normally would. She stepped back a bit and narrowed her eyes. He continued smiling.

"She had a lot of trash she needed to get rid of." Alan chuckled and walked back to the apartment, leaving the stunned woman behind. He walked back in and shut the door, then headed for the bedroom. He walked in, hearing that she wasn't sobbing anymore but hadn't moved and was still under the blanket. "Uh, Emily?" He asked. "It's me, Alan." Again no reply. He figured it had been quite the day for her, witnessing him kill G.U.N. troops then getting attacked by her boyfriend. Still, he had somewhere to be and he didn't wanna spend more time waiting for her to come out of her shell. He removed the covers and looked into her eyes. He saw they were blank and unresponsive. He poked her knee and got no response.

"Alright Emily, I can't be a gentleman anymore, hope you can get your life on the right track, later." He stood up and left the room. He found the key by the front door and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. His conscience was eating away at him as he slid the key into the lock.

"Oh God dammit." He muttered, opening up the door and going back inside. He stepped into the room where she still remained, curled up on the floor. He stepped up to her and scooped her up in his arms. Emily whimpered as he set her down on her feet and pulled her leggings back up. He buttoned up her blouse and lifted her into his arms again, heading for the door. He went out to the truck and set her in the passenger seat and climbed up behind the wheel. He started the truck and pulled out, having decided that he would just have to bring her with him.

After an hour of driving, seemingly aimlessly to throw off anyone trying to tail him, Alan pulled into an underground parking garage. It was old and had been in disuse until Brystol had acquired it for renovations. Brystol was high ranking brass in G.U.N. and had secretly made an underground bunker underneath this garage. He pulled into a space by an old elevator and got out, stepping up to a hidden camera to give it the proper signal. He flipped off the camera and walked around to the passenger seat, gently shaking the shoulder of the now asleep Emily.

"Rise and shine princess." He said.

"Ugh, where am I." She grumbled.

"Well I can't really tell you, but you're with me so you are in better hands than with your ex." Alan replied, wondering just how shut down she was when it all happened.

"Alan? Oh, right…" Emily shivered, remembering what had happened when she got back home.

"Also, you should slap me hard in the face." He said, receiving a confused look. "You were in a vulnerable position, let's say. I had to redress you somewhat, take it how you will." Emily looked down at herself, noticing her blouse was re-buttoned and her leggings were on normally, and blushed.

"You didn't…like…" She started.

"Look? Feel you up? Take advantage of you in some way?" Alan interrupted. "No. Under more consensual circumstances sure." He continued with his normal bored sounding voice. He started walking for the elevator, slinging his case over his shoulder. Emily hurried to follow. She walked up beside Alan and looked at the wall around the elevator, not seeing a button.

"How do we call the elevator here?" She asked.

"Just wait." Alan grumbled. He hated standing here waiting. It made him feel like a sitting duck. Suddenly there was a ding and the doors slid open. Alan stepped inside as did Emily. The doors closed and the elevator began its descent.

Zulu sat with Cream at the dining room table helping her with an art project. Victor was sitting in his corner watching them, occasionally adding to their conversation. It was getting dark and Victor went to the kitchen to pour himself a drink when the door to the garage opened.

"I'm home!" Vanilla announced.

"Momma!" Cream called from the dining room.

"Good evening ma'am." Victor greeted her. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Oh! Well my files are still out in my car if you wouldn't mind." She smiled as the big man stepped by her, ducking under the doorway and heading to her car. Vanilla heaved her hospital bag onto the counter and sighed. Cream came bolting into the kitchen and gave her a hug. Zulu entered the kitchen and smiled at her.

"Hello." He greeted cheerfully.

"Well well, should you really be up and about?" Vanilla gently scolded him.

"Zulu, take it easy on himself?" Victor asked sarcastically, entering the kitchen. "Ma'am, Zulu may be grown and mature on the outside, but inside, he's still young and stupid. He still thinks girls have cooties." Vanilla could barely hide her laugh as Zulu narrowed his eyes at Victor.

"First off, I believe I'm older than you, and second, I don't still think that." Zulu retorted. Victor smirked.

"That's right you are older than me! Man, makes it even sadder that you still haven't lost your V-card." Victor said smugly. Zulu growled, and opened his mouth to reply but Vanilla spoke first.

"V-card?" She asked. Victor leaned down and whispered in her ear. Slowly her cheeks began to get red. "Oh my…" She muttered quietly.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cream asked.

"Cream let's finish your art project." Zulu smiled to her and they left the room, Zulu giving Victor a death glare as he left.

"I am so in for it later." Victor chuckled. "But it was worth it. I see why he likes teasing everyone so much."

"You know more about Zulu than you let on." Vanilla eyed him.

"Actually I don't, I just said that, but based on his reaction, it was true." Victor laughed. "Who would have thought? I overheard him brag about how much of a ladies man he was during down time between tests once."

"You're like the friend who tells me all of my partner's secrets." Vanilla giggled, then blushed, realizing what she had said.

"Ah is that how it is?" Victor smirked. "Speaking of that, does he know?"

"…Yes…" She replied shyly.

"Ha! Good for you! So have you two-"

"Victor please." Vanilla cut him off. "Don't even start with that. You're not allowed to tease me." She stated. Victor chuckled.

"Ok I see who the boss is." He replied. He returned to his seat in the corner while Vanilla prepared dinner in the kitchen. Zulu and Cream finished her project just as Vanilla brought out dinner. Cream cleared the table while Zulu again helped Vanilla with bringing out all the food. They all sat at the table with Victor sitting beside Vanilla while Zulu sat across from her and next to Cream. Tonight Vanilla had made spaghetti and garlic bread and they all dug in with a hungry fervor. Vanilla found something strangely charming about how Zulu ate. While she, Cream, and even Victor to some extent, ate with table manners, Zulu just wolfed it down. There was some semblance of table manners, he kept his elbows off the table, wiped his mouth, didn't talk with his mouth full, yet he chewed with his mouth somewhat open, he sat slightly hunched over the table, and he usually tried to fit a bit too much food into his mouth at once, giving him fat cheeks. She adored the latter, watching as he stuffed a piece of bread loaded with spaghetti into his mouth and slowly tried to chew with his eyes closed.

After dinner Victor had taken Cream to the kitchen to start on dishes while Vanilla and Zulu cleared the table. Vanilla was stacking plates when she felt a warm presence behind her. Zulu carefully leaned over her, reaching for a fork across the table. She looked up and wriggled her ears, tickling Zulu's neck.

"Hey now." Zulu chuckled. He blew on her ears, causing her to shiver and fold them down behind her head. He retrieved the fork and placed it in a glass full of other silverware and they brought the silverware and plates to the kitchen. Zulu smiled at the sight they walked in on, seeing Victor hunched over the sink while Cream stood on the counter next to him. He and Vanilla gave them the dishes and Zulu headed for the couch in the living room. He sat down heavily and shut his eyes, sensing someone else join him on the couch.

"You know, I was gonna get you back, but I forgot my own plan." Zulu chuckled tiredly. Vanilla sat beside him and blushed, remembering her confession the previous night.

"Hmm, and here I thought you were the spontaneous type." She teased. Zulu slowly stretched his arms out and rested them on top of the couch, his right arm laying behind her head. Vanilla looked over at him, he had his legs crossed, his right ankle resting on his left knee, his head was resting back on the couch, and he was taking slow, deep, relaxed breaths. She was debating on leaning up against him when Cream came out of the kitchen with Victor.

"Zulu, Shadow just called." Victor said. "He and Rogue are on their way here right now. I'll be going with them to a parking garage downtown. Obviously you're in no state to be out and about." Zulu cracked an eye open at Victor before sitting up and cracking his neck. Zulu slowly stood up as the doorbell rang.

"Zulu…" Victor said warningly.

"Cream get the door sweety." Vanilla asked. Cream hurried to the door, and returned with Shadow and Rogue.

"Look Zulu-" Victor began but Zulu cut him off.

"Shadow, brief me." Zulu said.

"Well Rogue got contacted by someone in G.U.N. asking her to get me and meet up at an old parking garage downtown. Rogue was told it was about the man hunt for you two." Shadow said. "I want to bring Victor along but-"

"Be careful." Zulu interrupted, surprising everyone, who all had expected he would try and go as well. "Taking Victor is a good plan. They can then see that we are not threats. Just be careful out there you guys."

"Understood, thanks for not making things difficult." Shadow replied.

"How you holding up hun?" Rogue asked.

"I'm still fatigued." Zulu replied honestly. "I know I'd be a combat risk, so of course I won't be going, as much as I want to." He patted Victor on the shoulder. "Alright, you're my diplomat, I'm trusting you to act for me."

"Yes sir." Victor said. Zulu, Vanilla, and Cream saw them out and wished them luck. Cream let out a long yawn.

"Looks like its bed time dear." Vanilla said.

"Really?" Cream pouted.

"How about I read you a bed time story." Zulu added.

"Yay!" Cream ran up to her room, followed by Zulu. Vanilla sighed and laid down on the couch again, thinking about how much of a happy family they made.

Zulu sat on Creams bed while she picked out a story for him to read. Having picked one, she jumped up onto the bed and snuggled into his lap. He opened the book and began reading her the story. He didn't recognize the fairy tale but it seemed to follow the prince saves the princess plotline. Cream began to fall asleep and murmur questions that popped into her mind.

"Have you ever fought a dragon Zulu?"

"No Cream, nor do I want to." He chuckled.

"Why not?" She asked softly.

"Well, they are big and scary and even though I am quite capable with a sword, I don't think I could do what this prince does."

"Would you fight one for me?" She asked sleepily.

"Cream I would take on a hundred dragons with a sword for you." Zulu whispered, slipping out of the bed and tucking her in. He kissed her forehead and smiled as he heard her whisper "I love you Zulu."

"I love you too Cream." He silently left the room and headed down the stairs. He noticed Vanilla on the couch and quietly walked over to her. Slowly he lay down on the other end of the couch, not wanting to disturb her, and put his hands behind his head. As he lie there on his back he felt someone crawling onto him. He opened an eye and found Vanilla's head resting on his chest and her legs wrapped around one of his. He gently blew on her ears and smiled when she shivered and looked up at him.

"Leave my ears alone." She tried sounding stern.

"Not my fault they are always in my face." He replied, smirking at her. Vanilla flicked them into his face and giggled as he tried to turn his face away from them. "There isn't enough room for me and your ears on this couch."

"My ears are fine, you're big enough to be a couch." Vanilla shot back.

"Oh is that your plan, use me for a couch?" Zulu accused.

"Well, you sure are comfy, I might sell my couch." She laughed.

"Comfy? Well, you do seem quite content where you are."

"Mmhmm, very."

"Geez you flirt like a teenage girl."

"You sure do make me feel like one."

"Wait, is that good or bad?" Zulu asked.

"Good I suppose, I just feel like a young girl in love around you." Vanilla sighed. Zulu gently wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Why you love me I'll never know, but I love you too Vanilla." Zulu smiled at her and she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in until her forehead was resting on his.

"Really?" She playfully asked, rubbing her nose against his nose.

"Yes." He replied softly. Slowly Vanilla leaned in and tenderly pressed her lips to his.

"This the place?" Victor asked. Rogue, Shadow and Victor were outside of an old decrepit underground parking garage.

"Seems like it." Shadow confirmed. "Rogue didn't see anything else like it in the area, so this has to be the one.

"Well let's get inside, ladies first." Rogue walked down the paved slope and into the garage, followed by Victor and Shadow. The garage was pretty much deserted, save for a black G.U.N. truck parked by an elevator. They cautiously approached it and looked around.

"Hmm, nothing inside." Victor said. Shadow crawled out from underneath it.

"It's not rigged up or anything." He reported.

"Hey boys, smile for the camera." Rogue laughed, waving at what seemed to be an ordinary concrete wall. On closer inspection, embedded in the bottom left corner of the wall there was a tiny camera lens. They all heard a "ding" and peeked around the wall to see that the elevator doors had opened.

"Well, ladies first!" Victor declared, nudging Rogue forward. They all entered the elevator and it began to descend. After fifteen seconds Victor started to worry. "Damn, how far down did they dig?"

"Could be a trap, get ready." Shadow ordered. The elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open, revealing a large room full of tables with computers, wires, filing cabinets, chairs, and around twenty people either walking around, or sitting and typing. Immediately to the left of the elevator were three people. One of them was a serious looking woman wearing black rimmed glasses. The second was a man Shadow thought looked familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on who he was. The third person was behind them and seemed a bit lost and confused. She was pretty short and seemed to be gazing around everywhere.

"Welcome Shadow and Rogue, I'm Naytalia Brystol, G.U.N. brass. I see you've brought one of the men from the E.M.P. occurrences, excellent. Beside me is Alan, a Special Forces G.U.N. sniper who only takes orders from me, you may recognize him Shadow. I'm told you encountered Alan twice during the Black Arms conflict."

"Ah, that's why you seemed familiar. Nice to see you're still alive." Shadow gave him a nod.

"Likewise Shadow, I have a lot to thank you for." Alan replied.

"You know him?" Rogue asked.

"Very well, it's disappointing most people don't. G.U.N. pretty much wiped what he did during the Black Arms conflict under the rug. He is the sole survivor of the first company of troops deployed to repel the invasion. He was trapped deep in the Black Arms controlled part of the city for the entire conflict, by himself. His company is the same one that made the stand at the subway station, which is where he got that scar."

"Wow, you'd think he would have received loads of recognition." Rogue replied.

"Wait, Alan, are you the guy that is mentioned on that plaque at the station?!" The shorter girl behind him asked, shocked.

"Guilty as charged." He responded, although not very cheerfully. Victor stepped forward, surprising Alan by shoving his hand in his face.

"I'm honored to meet you Alan, I'm Victor. You got some balls. You have my full respect and admiration." Alan shook his hand, overwhelmed by the giant's praise.

"Thank you Victor, it means a lot." He replied.

"We will have more time for war stories later boys, we have much to discuss, this way." Brystol lead them all to a separate room from the main hub and shut the door. There was a large table in the middle of the room and a large screen on the wall. Brystol sat at the head of the table with Alan and Emily on one side and Rogue, Shadow, and Victor on the other.

"First off, I would like to hear how you and the other man got here Victor, and who you both are." Brystol started.

"Yes ma'am." Victor replied. "I'll keep it brief. I was part of a program that was started against government orders and secretly operated with the goal of creating augmented super soldiers. At some point we were given drugs obtained from G.U.N., how I'm not really sure. Someone found out and tried to erase everything relating to the program. Our team was sent straight into an ambush and only our team leader Zulu and I made it out alive. He was sent through the portal during the ambush, while I tracked down another afterwards and came here to find him. Currently we want to find out who is trying to eliminate us and find out what type of deal G.U.N. made with the man running the program. Zulu is worried that there could be a multidimensional conflict if we don't clear up what is going on."

"Where is Zulu currently? I was expecting both of you." Brystol asked.

"I'm not sure you are aware but we are responsible for the break in at G.U.N. last night. Zulu was attacked by an unnaturally skilled person and was stabbed. I'm not trying to brag here but he and I are highly trained and augmented to maximize our combat capabilities, and I witnessed the fight. That was no normal man he was fighting. The man also was using knives coated in a liquid sedative. Zulu is currently able to walk around but he isn't combat ready, and didn't want to risk coming here if it was a trap."

"It was you two?!" She exclaimed. "Are you both insane? How the Hell did you survive?!"

"Well Shadow and Silver did most of the work, Zulu and I just held the rear." Victor replied casually.

"Unbelievable, two men held off the entire G.U.N. complex." Brystol muttered, having heard details of the casualties and damage, but no reports as to who was responsible.

"Two hedgehogs, and two men I think you mean." Victor added, winking at Shadow. "But what is important is do you know of any soldiers with inhuman fighting capabilities or any sedative drug research?"

"I have not been informed of any super soldier like projects or drug developments, but I will certainly look into it." She shook her head. "Can I just hear whose dumb idea it was to break into G.U.N.?"

"Zulu planned the whole thing, down to who would be in each group." Victor replied with pride.

"Oh lord." Brystol rolled her eyes.

"I have a question." Shadow said. "Why did you call us here, and what are you even doing?"

"Well Shadow, we have you to thank for this operation." Brystol replied. "I started this secret sect., which I've dubbed the Shadow Sect., of G.U.N. with the original purpose of monitoring G.U.N.'s intentions for you. If anyone in G.U.N. tries to incriminate you or make you a scapegoat we will put a stop to it. I handpick people here who believe that you aren't the evil weapon that G.U.N. brass would like everyone to believe. Don't get me wrong, we don't think we are protecting you, we all know and respect your abilities, but we see this as doing our part to repay your unmentioned services to the world. The Shadow Sect. has now grown to stopping any internal corruption and other activities that are not for the good of everyone."

"Wow, it's like a big Shadow fan club!" Rogue teased, nudging the black hedgehog.

"I joined because this group is about revealing what is going on behind the curtains and making sure those who have done any wrong are held accountable, and likewise no one will get swept under the rug." Alan added.

"I'm sure it is all well and good, just seems childish to me." Shadow mumbled. "Doesn't answer why you called us here."

"Earlier today the hotel Alan was using to monitor Zulu and Victor was raided by G.U.N. troops. They were searching for him. This is very worrying, since the Shadow Sect. isn't supposed to be known about by anyone outside of it. Someone has gotten word of what we are up to and is trying to shut us down. So I decided to call you in and tell you that we are on your side and will provide you with any information we can. I would have reached out sooner, but that would have drawn more attention to myself, but now that we have been discovered, it doesn't matter who I talk to." Brystol explained in full.

"Great! We have a reliable contact inside G.U.N. now." Victor said excitedly. "Zulu will definitely approve."

"Thanks for the heads up." Shadow nodded to Brystol. "One more question. Who is she then?" Shadow motioned to Emily.

"It's, well, quite a long story." Alan replied. Brystol gave him a hard look.

"I'm Emily." She replied quietly. "I witnessed Alan fight G.U.N. troops, so he offered me a ride home to get me out of the area so I wouldn't be questioned."

"So why are you here now?" Shadow pressed, glancing at her suspiciously.

"I was…attacked…by my boyfriend when I got home." She stared at the floor.

"Oh geez, sorry hun!" Rogue walked over and rubbed her shoulder.

"I intervened and stopped him. She was in no position to be left alone so I brought her with me." Alan finished.

"Hmph, shouldn't date assholes." Shadow replied. "Alright, keep in touch with us and let us know of any new developments. Rogue, Victor, we should get moving."

"Here's my number girly." Rogue gave Emily a piece of paper. "You look in need of some serious girl time. Emily smiled at her and nodded.

"Guess we can trade stories another time Alan." Victor shook his hand.

"Look forward to it Victor, as well as meeting Zulu." Alan replied.

They stepped out of the elevator and into the empty parking garage. Shadow and Victor started to leave when Rogue stopped them.

"Hey boys, I know noticing subtle things like a new haircut or hairstyle, accessories, or new makeup is hard for you, but did you blank out on the fact that the big truck that was parked here is now gone?" She asked.

"Damn, I thought it felt a little emptier." Victor replied, looking around.

"Someone probably just stole it, remember where we are. This part of town has a number of gangs and thugs." Shadow shrugged, turning to leave. They exited the parking garage and Shadow warped them back to Tails' place.

A black G.U.N. truck pulled into a parking lot not far from where the Shadow Sect.'s base of operations was located. The parking lot was empty, save for a clean black sedan. The truck pulled up in front of it and the door opened. A black rat clad in a black tactical vest climbed out and approached the rear of the sedan. A window rolled down and the rat stepped up to the door.

"Ah Bilge, I see you accomplished your mission." An unidentifiable man spoke from the darkened interior of the car.

"Yes sir, they are in an abandoned parking garage not far from here." Bilge growled. His voice was deep and gravelly, turning everything he said into a menacing growl.

"Excellent." A plume of cigar smoke fumed out of the window. "Kill them all." The window rolled up and the sedan left the parking lot. Bilge returned to the truck and climbed inside.

"Time for my favorite part of the job." He growled to himself, turning on the truck and pulling out of the parking lot, heading back to the garage he had stolen the truck from.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 9**

 **Hello everyone! I really hope you guys are liking how the story is going! I've given my OC bios on my profile more information so you guys can learn a little bit more about Zulu, Victor, and Bilge. Please read, review, message me, all that stuff, your opinion matters to me and I respond pretty quick to PMs. Thank you for sticking with me this far everyone!**

Bilge pulled the truck into the garage and parked it by the elevator. He had considered a stealthier approach but figured that since the elevator was his only way in, it was pointless. Bilge quickly checked his tactical vest for his rappelling gear and made sure he had enough ammo stored away in case there was a long drawn out fire fight. He slid his handgun into its holster on his left thigh and grabbed his compact sub-machine gun, custom made for his small size, slinging it over his shoulder.

He hopped down from the truck and stepped up to the elevator door. He analyzed it before deciding he would just have to force it open. Bilge wormed his fingers into the crack between the doors and pulled, the muscles in his arms bulging as the doors slid apart. Once he opened the doors he tugged off the rope he had wound around his torso. At one end of the rope was a spike, which he jammed into the sliding door track on the ground. He then hit a button on the spike, causing small claws to shoot out, securing it firmly in place. Bilge yanked on the rope, checking that it held firm, then slotted the rope through special loops on his vest.

Holding onto the rope he then leaned out into the elevator shaft and began rappelling down. He took his time and didn't rush, knowing that they were most likely well aware he was coming down and there wasn't really much he could do about it. A few moments later he touched down onto the top of the elevator. He quickly moved over to a maintenance hatch and ripped it open, hopping down into the elevator. His ears twitched up, hearing a lot of activity on the other side of the doors. He shouldered his sub-machine gun and tapped a button, the doors slid open with a humorous "ding".

Before the doors had opened a quarter of the way Bilge opened fire, killing two people as they ran by the door carrying boxes. As the gunfire echoed through the room chaos ensued. Bilge stepped out of the elevator and began firing short bursts into anyone in sight. People dropped what they were carrying to turn and flee, only to be shot mercilessly in the back. Bilge sneered and laughed at the horror on a man's face who ran out of a room right in front of him. He put a burst into his stomach and stepped over his body, sweeping his gun around and continued the massacre.

As Bilge reached the far side of the room he saw a young woman dart out of a room and run for another. He aimed and was about to fire when more motion caught his attention.

"Emily!" Bilge swiveled to point his gun at the room she had left as a man ran out yelling her name. Bilge fired but the man slid into cover behind a cabinet. Suddenly a hand peeked around the side of the cabinet with a gun and fired, causing Bilge to duck back behind a concrete support pillar. He smiled to himself as he reloaded, happy that someone was finally fighting back. He leaned around the pillar and put three long bursts into the cabinet, stepping out from cover and quickly running up to it as he fired to keep the man pinned.

Alan stayed crouched, waiting for the split second when the rat would appear from around the cabinet. He saw the tip of the gun and jumped out, grabbing the gun and tackling the rat to the ground. Alan brought his right elbow down hard, slamming it into the side of the black rat's snout. The rat hissed and planted its feet into his stomach, kicking him off before hopping to its feet. The rat had dropped its gun and sneered at him. Alan was momentarily stunned by the rats surprising strength and in that time the rat drew the handgun that was holstered on its thigh. Alan rolled to the side and back behind the cabinet.

Bilge was impressed by the man's reflexes as he trained his handgun on the cabinet. He glanced over to see that the woman that had run out of the room was cowering in a corner. He swiveled to put a bullet in her head when yet another person burst out of the room beside him. Bilge's reflexes surged as he swept the handgun over to the new arrival and fired, shooting the person in the head. As the woman dropped to the floor a blur of movement and a scream of rage caught his attention as the man from before charged out from behind the cabinet. Bilge barely had time to turn and fire before the man rammed into him.

Alan screamed as he drew his hidden boot knife and charged around the cabinet, slamming his shoulder into the rat's sternum and knocking the rat to the ground. Alan landed on top of the rat and raised his right arm to stab but the rat grabbed his wrist and held back the knife. Alan slammed his left forearm into the rat's throat and put all his weight onto it. The rat struggled and began punching Alan in the ribs, breaking a few. Alan fought through the pain and whipped his head forward with a brutal head-butt, slamming his forehead onto the bridge of the rat's snout. The rat's hold on his wrist weakened momentarily and Alan pushed through, planting the knife deep into where the rat's neck met its shoulder.

Alan rolled off of the rat and onto his hands and knees, clutching his ribs and gritting his teeth in pain. He looked over to where Brystol lay dead on the floor. Alan growled and shifted his gaze to where Emily was sitting, propped up against a wall and breathing hard with her eyes closed. Alan started to move over to her when a surge of pain shot through his stomach. He groaned loudly in pain and looked down to see there was a bullet hole in his stomach. Alan moaned and coughed up blood, his lungs and ribs ablaze with pain. He kept crawling slowly over to her, until, after what felt like miles, his hand brushed her leg. Alan heard Emily whimper before collapsing to the floor and passing out.

Shadow appeared in a flash of light inside Brystol's secret headquarters. Accompanying him were Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Victor, and Rogue. The place was shot up and people lay dead everywhere.

"What the Hell happened?" Victor exclaimed. "We left not even an hour ago."

"Emily called me, saying that their camera saw someone forcing their way into the elevator." Rogue replied, a worried look on her face. "Emily!" She called.

"Alright let's look for survivors." Sonic said and sped off to look in a room.

"Careful, whoever did this could still be around." Shadow warned. He looked around as he began his search. The room was trashed with papers lying everywhere and every table had been overturned. Pools of blood highlighted the bodies strewn around the room.

"Guys, over here!" Amy called. They all hurried over to find Amy crouching beside a woman who was cradling a man's head in her lap and crying.

"That's Emily and Alan!" Rogue rushed to Emily's side and gently touched her shoulder.

"I…found Brystol." Victor said grimly. Shadow and Sonic walked over to find Victor squatting by Brystol's body. "Looks like a shot to the head." He observed.

"Hey guys, who is this?" Knuckles asked, standing beside the body of a black rat.

"He wasn't here when we were, and he looks like he was heavily armed." Shadow commented.

"Think he was the attacker?" Sonic asked. Victor knelt down beside the rat and pressed his fingers to its neck.

"Well whoever it is, somehow they are still alive." He growled.

"Alright we will take him with us." Shadow stated. "Knuckles, grab him, Victor, take Alan, the girls can get Emily up. Stand close everyone, I'm going to warp us to Vanilla's."

Zulu was asleep on the couch when a bright flash woke him up. He jumped to his feet to find a crowd of people had arrived.

"Jesus Christ, what the Hell happened?!" He asked, alarmed.

"We aren't sure." Shadow replied. "Not too soon after we had left the meeting Rogue got a distress call and we gathered up a team and returned to find the place shot up. We need Vanilla ASAP."

"I'll go wake her." Zulu sprinted upstairs and returned with a groggy Vanilla.

"What happen-Oh my!" She immediately woke up upon seeing Alan and the rat's injuries. "Get those two to the kitchen now, I'll get my bag, is she hurt?" Vanilla asked about Emily.

"She is just shaken up." Rogue responded. Vanilla nodded and hurried off to grab her bag. Knuckles laid the rat on the floor and Victor laid Alan on the table.

"You guys sure this rat did it? He doesn't look that tough." Knuckles pondered.

"We will know soon enough, maybe once Emily calms down she can tell us what happened." Victor replied, glancing over his shoulder into the living room where Rogue and Amy were consoling a distraught Emily on the couch.

"Didn't bother taking the knife out of his neck?" Zulu asked Knuckles.

"Woah! I didn't really notice that."

"Leave him be you two!" Vanilla shooed them away and examined the rat on the floor. "My my, that knife is in deep, luckily though the angle doesn't seem to lead into his neck. I'll have to work on this rat first, his condition is much more fatal." Vanilla stated as she began to work. Victor remained standing by Alan and looked down on the young soldier with concern.

"You know him then?" Zulu joined him by the table.

"His name is Alan, he's been watching over us, you could say. Shadow holds him in high regard." Victor and Zulu turned to glance at the dark hedgehog, who was in the living room but kept glancing over at Alan.

"Seems he has earned your respect as well Victor." Zulu said softly, raising a hand to the large man's shoulder.

"I won't spoil his story for you, I'll let him tell you." Victor replied. Zulu nodded and left the kitchen with Knuckles. Zulu slowly approached the girls on the couch.

"How is she holding up?" He asked.

"She will be alright." Rogue said gently. "She said the rat was the attacker, but she doesn't remember much of the fight. She says she had her eyes squeezed shut for most of the fight but said Alan was the one to bring down the rat."

"Alan will be alright Emily." Amy rubbed Emily's back.

"He…he just shot…everyone…he was laughing…" Emily mumbled.

"Oh, Emily you poor thing, you're safe." Rogue comforted. Zulu left them to it and stepped up to Shadow, Knuckles, and Sonic.

"This just escalated to a whole new level." Zulu muttered calmly. "Now it seems there are some internal disagreements within G.U.N. which makes this more complicated."

"Couldn't we try and find others in G.U.N. who would side with us?" Sonic suggested.

"Doubtful. The ones after us could try and lure us in with a trap. We don't know who to trust." Shadow dismissed the idea. "We have the portal plans that Tails is working on. We also have the rat."

"According to Emily the rat is responsible for the attack." Zulu added. Shadow nodded.

"So we can question him and see what he knows." Sonic concluded. "So the plan is we rest up and get back to fighting strength, learn what we can and plot from there." He finished.

"Man I hate waiting, I wanna dish out some payback." Knuckles growled, slamming his fists together. Zulu suddenly was hit with an idea. He glanced over at Amy and Rogue and smiled to himself.

"Knuckles, I like how you think, and I have an idea." Zulu said, giving the echidna a wink. "Shadow, can you bring Blaze here?" He asked.

"Hmph, sure." There was a flash and he was gone. Moments later he returned with a protesting cat and a confused hedgehog.

"Shadow what's the big idea you can't just appear and grab me and-" Blaze trailed off, looking around and feeling the tense atmosphere.

"Blaze, Rogue and Amy will catch you up to speed." Zulu said, gently pushing the cat towards them. "I'll join you ladies in a moment. Silver, sorry for the abrupt transit."

"Don't worry." Silver replied.

"What's your plan?" Knuckles asked. "And why do you need the girls? We can do just fine without them."

"Oh Knuckles." Zulu chided him. "I am simply going to start using every tool I have available to its maximum potential. Those girls offer a lot of combat capabilities and right now is when I can start utilizing them. I'm going to see everything they can do and make up a plan for a counter attack."

"Well, long as I get to fight I'm in." Knuckles agreed.

"Good, now for you three." Zulu addressed Sonic, Silver, and Shadow. "I'm going to need you guys to hang back, along with Victor."

"What? Why?" Sonic complained.

"Shut up and let him finish." Shadow growled, but also felt somewhat irritated at behind left behind.

"G.U.N. is most likely keeping tabs on everyone they see as a threat. Now since the girls haven't been very active with what we have been doing, G.U.N. is most likely not paying too much attention to them, besides Rogue. They also believe I am out of commission. If you three are back at Tails' place while Victor hangs here with Alan and Emily, they will quickly lose track of where Blaze and Amy are. Rogue will have no trouble losing whoever is keeping track of her, but G.U.N. won't worry about that because they will think Rogue is on her own. They will assume I am with Victor, and Knuckles, they won't worry about you because they don't know how good you have become."

"I see what you are saying." Shadow nodded. "That still doesn't explain your plan though."

"Well, I'd guess I'd have a day or two at most before G.U.N. got suspicious. I am going to take Knuckles and the girls out of the city for a day or two to train and see how I can organize them into a strike team. Rogue's ability to fly is incredible but I feel that she can do more than just that. Blaze, I've heard, is quite the pyro, and I want to see it in action. Amy apparently has a large hammer and quite the strength and endurance when wielding it. Tie it all together with Knuckles' strength and gliding abilities, as well as my leadership, and we could have quite the effective in-and-out strike team."

"You know, when you list out all their abilities like that, I'm amazed the girls haven't already formed a team of their own." Sonic said. Zulu laughed.

"Oh how young and naïve you are Sonic, there is still so much you don't know about women." He chuckled loudly, catching Amy's attention. Sonic and Knuckles exchanged confused glances while Shadow stood quiet, arms crossed, considering the idea. Silver gave Zulu an approving nod at his plan.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't be talking bad about us would you?" Amy called. Zulu laughed and gave her a smile.

"Not at all Amy, Sonic just says the silliest things." Zulu walked over to the pink hedgehog and knelt again before the girls. He quickly adopted a more serious look. "Hey Emily, how are you doing?"

"I…I'm ok. Still shaken up though." Emily replied, some strength having returned to her voice. Zulu nodded.

"Good to hear, I'm Zulu by the way. I'm sorry you had all this happen to you tonight."

"So you're the man G.U.N. is after." Emily replied bitterly. "Just had to drag everyone into your fight."

"Hey, Emily that's-" Rogue started but Zulu interrupted her.

"It's ok Rogue. It is my fault all this is happening." He replied softly.

"You should have just stayed in your dimension." Emily spat. "I heard from Victor, you came here after getting ambushed. Just abandoned Victor and your team and left them behind. You don't care what happens to those around you, you're just a heartless coward, throwing away the lives of those under your command so you can live!" She shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're just an angel of death! Wherever you go you bring conflict and violence, why don't you just go away!" Zulu's face was an emotionless mask as he slowly stood up. Victor hurried into the room.

"Zulu-"

"It's alright…I'll…I'll be outside." Zulu walked to the front door and left the house, gently closing the door behind him. No one spoke. All eyes slowly made their way to Victor. Emily looked over at the man, immediately regretting her outburst. The look she received made her feel sick. Victor looked upset, angry, and surprisingly most of all, disappointed. He shook his head at her and turned to head into the kitchen when a door slammed from upstairs.

"Oh no, Cream…" Victor sighed, instead walking to the stairs and heading up to Cream's room. All was quiet, besides muffled sobs coming from the kitchen. Victor could be heard upstairs trying to get Cream to open her door, but to no avail. He returned downstairs and went out the front door. No one could bring themselves to move or speak, so sudden had Emily lashed out at Zulu.

"I…I'm sorry." Emily mumbled. The front door opened up.

"Just get upstairs sir, I'll handle things down here." Victor's voice could be heard. Emily barely saw Zulu as he leaped up the stairs in a blur. Emily stood up as Victor reentered the living room.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line." She said. Victor growled.

"You have no idea how deep those words cut. If that was really how you feel, you should join who is hunting us, because you share their way of thinking." Victor walked into the kitchen, his biting words bringing tears to Emily's eyes. Rogue, Blaze, and Amy stayed with her on the couch.

"Hun don't worry." Rogue said soothingly. "A lot has happened to you and you needed to let it out. It's ok."

"It's not ok." Emily mumbled, tears leaking from her eyes. "How I feel doesn't make it ok to bitch someone out like that. He was just being nice and I overreacted."

"Emily, it's obvious to us you didn't mean it. You should go apologize though." Amy said. Blaze nodded.

"I'd go talk to Vanilla and Victor in the kitchen." Blaze suggested. Emily stood and headed into the kitchen where she found Vanilla working on Alan. It was obvious she had been crying. Victor was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.

"Vanilla." Emily said. Vanilla spoke without looking at her, continuing to work.

"Yes?" Her reply was short and she sounded sad.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I was out of line and there was no reason for me to say those things to Zulu."

"Victor?" Vanilla asked with a tone implying she wanted his opinion.

"I think she understands why what she said was wrong." He replied simply. Vanilla looked over at Emily and smiled.

"There is no use brooding and holding grudges over words spoken in frustration and stress. You are very mature for a young woman, taking responsibility for your words."

"Thank you Vanilla. H-How is Alan?" Emily asked.

"He will make a full recovery. The rat however, I don't know. He lost a lot of blood. He may have attacked you but I care about all of my patients." Vanilla said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"I understand Vanilla, I hope that you can help b-both of them." Emily stammered.

"You should go see m-Zulu." Vanilla caught herself, almost saying my husband. She blushed as Emily left the room, not noticing the slip up. Victor couldn't contain a laugh.

"Getting ahead of ourselves aren't we?" He teased, hoping to cheer her up a little. "You may have told your "future husband" your feelings, but he lacks any experience to know what to with them."

"Oh hush you!" Vanilla snapped.

Emily walked up the stairs and stepped up to the closed door that was Cream's room. She heard giggling and Zulu's strong, deep voice reading a story. Gently she knocked on the door.

"Yes?" She heard Zulu answer.

"C-can I come in?" She asked.

"No!" A voice yelled. Emily guessed it was Cream.

"Cream…" Zulu gently scolded. "Come in." He said. Emily opened the door and what she saw really proved that she had been wrong. Zulu was sitting on the bed, back to the headboard and feet hanging off the end of the bed. In his right hand he held a children's book of fairy tales. His left arm was wrapped around Cream, who was snuggled up to him, sitting in his lap. Cream immediately glared at her and stuck out her tongue.

"Sorry to interrupt you two." Emily said, stepping into the room.

"Hey not a problem at all." Zulu said, giving her a smile. His eyes, however, looked pained and she saw the wounds he wasn't showing. "How are you feeling?" He asked. His voice was genuine.

"Awful honestly." She replied. "I said some things that I shouldn't have said to you and I wanted to apologize." She didn't look away from his eyes as she spoke, hoping to see the pain in them go away. When he answered, the pain remained.

"Oh it's fine, no big deal." He laughed.

"Zulu, I can see it in your eyes." Emily said. Zulu's smile quickly vanished.

"How is Alan?" He suddenly asked, his face becoming serious.

"Vanilla said he will make a full recovery." Emily saw relief replace some of the pain in his eyes.

"Victor told me he is quite a soldier, and that Shadow even has respect for him." Zulu said. "I can't wait to officially meet him."

"You are also well respected by everyone, and I know now I was wrong with what I said to you." Emily replied.

"You don't know anything about Zulu!" Cream spoke up. "You just accused him of being a coward and not caring about anyone! You don't know anything about him! He didn't leave his team behind, he was there until the end!" Emily was taken aback by the little bunny's rant.

"Cream, please, don't yell." Zulu said softly, rubbing her head. "It's all right, she was mistaken, that's all, she's sorry."

"She doesn't understand what you've been through and how you felt though." Cream pouted.

"Sweetheart." Zulu said, his voice tender and loving, having an immediate effect on Cream, calming her down. "You don't need to be so upset." He continued stroking the hair on her head and gave Emily a sad smile. "I watched each man of my team get killed." He said, his voice barely audible to Emily. "Lima was first, then Echo and Romeo, then Oscar, then Mike, then Victor." He listed them off, Emily feeling a jolt of guilt with every name he listed. She could see his pain as he relived every moment of their deaths. "Victor took a bullet to the shoulder and was knocked off of the platform we were holding. I thought he was dead and was overcome with rage and anguish. I took a bullet straight to my chest and was flung back into the portal." He finished, Cream was crying with her head pressed against his chest. Emily felt tears begin to run down her cheeks as all her emotions, frustration, and stress began to come out, and she stepped up to the bed and sank to her knees, saying sorry repeatedly and sobbing.

Vanilla peaked into Cream's room having heard a lot of crying and found Zulu with his right arm cradling a crying Cream who had her face pressed against his chest and his left arm gently patting a sobbing Emily, who was on her knees at the side of the bed with her head in his lap.

"Oh dear." Was all Vanilla could say.

"Oh perfect Vanilla, can I get some help?" Zulu asked. Vanilla noticed he seemed more like his normal self, and guessed by the looks of things Emily had properly apologized.

"You know, I think you have it handled." Vanilla said shutting the door.

"Vanilla!" He called, but she was gone.

Back down in the kitchen, Victor was raiding the fridge when he heard a growl. He turned to look at Alan, thinking it was him. He heard a second growl, and realized it was coming from the rat. He crouched down by the rat, who was slowly waking up. The rat growled again and suddenly his eyes ripped open. Victor almost jumped back as the blood red eyes glared up at him.

"Vanilla!" Victor called. "The rat is waking up!" There was a commotion in the living room as everyone hurried to the kitchen. Vanilla arrived in the kitchen and knelt down besides the rat.

"Easy now, try not to move too much alright. Just relax." She said, gently resting her hand on the rat's chest. The rat glared up at both Victor and Vanilla and growled.

"Where…am…I?..."

"The closest thing you're going to get to a hospital." Victor replied. "Who are you?" The rat didn't reply, instead looking around and noticing Alan laying on the table.

"Hey, I asked you a question." Victor growled.

"Victor, don't antagonize my patient." Vanilla said sternly.

"You should just kill me." The rat growled. "I'm not telling you anything." Victor was about to continue questioning when a loud beep was heard. Vanilla got up and stepped over to the counter, where a large machine with a vile of red liquid was sitting. Its display screen was flashing and it printed out a piece of paper. Vanilla read the paper and set it onto the counter.

"Seems my assumption was right." She said out loud. "I tested his blood for any traces of the combat drugs found in Zulu's system and got a match. Seems he wasn't given nearly as high of a dose as Zulu, but the fact that it was in his system says enough."

"So, you definitely work for G.U.N. then." Victor deduced. "What's your name?" The rat remained silent, closing his eyes. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me."

"Victor please." Vanilla scolded.

Bilge thought over his situation. He had been taken captive and was being treated for his injuries. Bilge pondered how to best kill himself, having no further purpose after his mission. He could return to G.U.N. for execution, since the policy was generally one mission per assassin unless special circumstances applied. The man in charge of the assassins always liked to rinse his hands of every mission he was involved in. Bilge also considered that someone might be sent out to kill him, which would certainly make things easier.

He opened his eyes and noticed everyone was now surrounding the man on the table, the one who had stabbed him. They were all distracted, now was his chance. He slowly wriggled his fingers and clenched his right fist. It was hard, but he was able to slowly move his arm over to his left shoulder. He shut his eyes and calmed his mind, preparing it for pain. He bit down hard on his tongue, clamping his mouth shut and dug his fingers into his stitched up stab wound. He winced with pain and kept watching the group, making sure he wasn't spotted, although it didn't matter if they did. They would be distracted by his knife wound, unaware he was actually drowning himself in his own blood.

After a few moments, Victor glanced over at the rat to see him jamming his fingers into his wound.

"Oh shit!" Victor exclaimed, dropping down beside the rat and trying to restrain him.

"Oh my god!" Vanilla cried. "What is he doing!?"

"What do you think?! He's trying to kill himself!" Victor growled, pinning the rats hands to the floor. "That was a stupid move on your part rat, was that really the plan?" Suddenly Victor felt the rat starting to convulse underneath him. The rat smirked up at him as a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. "What the Hell are you…Dammit!" Victor immediately rolled the rat over onto his side.

"Victor what are you doing!? I need to stop the bleeding in his shoulder!" Vanilla yelled.

"He has bitten his tongue Vanilla! He is drowning himself!" Victor cried. "We gotta get his mouth open! Silver!"

"On in!" Silver hurried over and knelt in front of the rats face, holding his hands up to Bilge's mouth. Slowly, the rats jaw slid open and blood gushed out. The rat continued to convulse as Vanilla began pumping his chest. The rat suddenly began coughing up blood violently and Vanilla started working on his bleeding tongue. With Silver holding his mouth open and Victor keeping the rat on his side restrained, Vanilla, after fifteen minutes of working, finally managed to stop the bleeding from his tongue. She packed his mouth with gauze and started working on his stab wound again.

The rabbit finished the last stitch and sighed with relief. She sat back on the floor and nodded to the man and the hedgehog holding Bilge down.

"I did it." She said. Vanilla wiped her eyes and leaned over the rat, who returned her look with a glare. He then noticed she was crying.

"Don't you ever do that again! You could have died!" The rabbit cried. Bilge would have made a smartass reply, but he couldn't talk with his mouth full of gauze. He was also confused about why she was so upset about it. He was someone whose only purpose was to die while killing people. He glanced past her to the group of animals who had been watching with worry, save for the black hedgehog, who couldn't seem to care less. He also saw two new arrivals, the shorter woman he had tried to kill from before and a taller man. He then noticed that the man who had stabbed him was sitting up on the table staring at him. Even he had been concerned. Bilge let out a sigh and closed his eyes, wondering what the Hell was wrong with these people.

"Looks like he's asleep." Victor said after a bit. "Crazy bastard. Everyone ok?" Victor glanced around at everyone and saw that this might have been a first time for most of them to see something like this happen. He gave Silver a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for the help." Silver just nodded slowly and stood up, walking over to Blaze who looked quite unsettled. Zulu stepped up beside Vanilla, who was still tense and kneeling beside the rat. She was relieved, but fear was still in her eyes. Zulu crouched beside her.

"Cream is sleeping soundly. Emily and I rushed down when we heard the commotion. How you doing?" He spoke gently to her. She nodded slowly and didn't move or say anything, eyes glued to the rat.

"Alright everyone." Zulu stood up. "You all witnessed what happened. It wasn't pleasant, and I'm sure for some of you it will be hard to forget. I'm sure most of you don't understand why that just happened, but let me tell you, this rat is just as much of a victim as Victor and I." Zulu suddenly intensified. "You all remember this as you fight, the people we are after made this rat believe that he would be more useful dead then returning, and that pisses me off." Zulu seethed. Victor stared up at Zulu in admiration, seeing the leader side starting to show. Zulu's words hit home with everyone and Victor could see them starting to understand. "Rest up everyone. Rogue, Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, I want you all at Tails workshop ready for two days of intense training by 6 o-clock in the morning." Zulu finished. "Sonic, Shadow, Silver, I mentioned my plans earlier to you guys, so you three are going to have to fill everyone else in."

Early the next morning, Knuckles was the last to arrive at Tails' house. Amy, Rogue, and Blaze were already there, wondering where Zulu was. Suddenly, Zulu dropped from the sky landing right in the middle of their group, the glint of a knife in his hand. Before any of them could react he moved in a blur, lightly tapping the blade to each of their necks.

"You're all dead." Zulu growled. He stood up and looked down on them. "We have a lot of work to do." He glanced up into the darkness of the sky. "Alright Tails, let's go."

"I'm coming too?! Awesome!" The small fox hovered down from where he had been hiding.

"Zulu, how did you do that?" Knuckles asked.

"Do what?" He replied.

"You just appeared right in the middle of us!" The echidna remarked.

"Isn't it obvious Knuckles? Tails held me aloft above you four and dropped me." Zulu smirked. "You all have very strong capabilities, but working as a team is far more than fighting side by side and trusting one another. Now, Rogue and Tails, carry Knuckles and I to where I direct you. Amy and Blaze, you must keep up and arrive at the spot the same time that we do. If my feet touch the ground and I don't see you, Rogue and Tails are flying you back here and you will have ten minutes to make the trip. Understood?"

"Alright." Amy replied hesitantly.

"Got it." Blaze said confidently.

"Excellent, alright, let's go." Zulu ordered. It was a grueling half hour flight for Tails and Rogue, but they made it to the clearing Zulu had directed them too. As Tails set Zulu down, Blaze and Amy burst from the tree line, panting and sweating. "Well done ladies! Now Knuckles, your warm up is to run ten laps around this clearing, and you aren't allowed to stop until you finish, now move it!" Zulu barked, jolting Knuckles into action. Zulu watched as he ran off and turned to everyone else. "Alright, Rogue and Blaze, you two get to team up and attack me first, Tails and Amy, you get a break."

"We just, attack you?" Rogue asked.

"I want you both to try and kill me. You two can use all of your abilities and do anything you want, I will only use my hands." Zulu turned and walked a few paces back, turning around to face them. "Begin!" He yelled. Blaze created twin fireballs while Rogue took to the sky. Blaze began hurling them at Zulu while Rogue dove down at him from above. Zulu launched himself toward Blaze, dodging her fireballs with ease and jumped, drop kicking her and sending her rolling back. Landing flat on the ground, he rolled to the side to avoid a kick from Rogue. He hopped up in a blur and delivered a hard roundhouse kick to the back of her head, sending her flying to land by Blaze.

"Ladies please. I already know how you can easily beat me. Use teamwork." Zulu emphasized teamwork. He patiently waited for them to get up.

"He's fast, but not Sonic or Shadow fast." Rogue commented quietly, standing up and rubbing her head.

"He's strong too." Coughed Blaze. "Fighting him up close isn't a good idea."

"Then lets both keep our distance." Rogue winked. "Clingy guys aren't attractive you know?"

"Let's do it." Blaze grinned. Rogue wrapped her arms around Blaze and flew into the air.

"That's it ladies!" Zulu yelled. He saw fireballs begin shooting towards him and he sprinted to the side. Now, he had to evade them until they can sync themselves properly. He ran, jumped, rolled, and ducked the hail of fireballs that were sent his way. It had been twenty minutes but they hadn't landed a hit on him. He decided to put pressure on them, either get them to snap together or snap apart.

"Come on you two! You're like an indecisive lesbian couple!" He yelled. "If you don't tell each other what you want you'll never get each other off!"

"What is he talking about?" Blaze asked.

"He is being a pervert. But I actually get what he is saying." Rogue replied. "Blaze, I have the speed and agility to keep up with him, you have the ranged firepower to attack him with. You have to anticipate where I'm going to move, not where he is going to move."

"But if I don't anticipate where he is going how will I hit him?" Blaze snapped.

"Blaze you have to be in sync with me, he is reacting to where I move as much as he is reacting to your shots. Anticipate and feel where I'm going, then guess where he will move in response. But don't forget he will also be considering where you will fire."

"Understood. I'll nail him this time."

"Good, and hurry up because I can't keep this up."

Rogue flew low and shot toward Zulu. Blaze received a small squeeze from Rogue on her right side, a signal that Rogue was going to bank right. Zulu started to step to the left. Blaze fired a shot at where he would be and Zulu jumped back to the right. Blaze smiled as he unknowingly moved to where she wanted him. Suddenly Rogue banked hard to the right, flying around Zulu as he ran. Blaze then anticipated Rogue would cut in front of him and held back, knowing that firing ahead of him would make her miss. Rogue abruptly turned to the right, Zulu dodged left to try and get behind them, but Blaze guessed that he would and had begun shooting fireballs the second he changed direction, blasting Zulu and knocking him back with three direct hits.

"I got him!" Blaze cheered.

"You go girl!" Rogue exclaimed. She slowed down and landed, giving Blaze a hug.

"Nice flying!" Blaze said. She looked over at where Zulu was getting to his feet.

"Damn ladies, I knew you had it in you." He grinned, walking up to them.

"You ok Zulu?" Blaze asked, seeing the burns on his clothes.

"Oh yeah, this jumpsuit is very resilient, and the armor is able to handle a lot of force." Zulu replied, brushing off his shoulders. Knuckles jogged up and collapsed onto the ground.

"Finished…my laps…Zulu." He wheezed.

"Excellent. On your feet." Zulu ordered. Knuckles shakily stood to his feet. "So, Rogue, whenever I'm not working with you and Blaze I want you both working on what you just did. Rogue you will be required to carry Blaze at all times unless resting or working with me. Blaze, you will work on your aim and strategy for shooting fireballs. I drew up these exercises last night for both of you." Zulu pulled out a small packet and handed it to Rogue. "Both of you take a short break then get started. Knuckles, Tails, and Amy, it's your turn." Zulu turned and walked a distance away before turning to face them. "Use whatever strategies and abilities you can to kill me. I again will only use my hands."

"Ok guys, Zulu is really tough, Amy, be very careful." Knuckles warned.

"Excuse me?" Amy snapped. "Just cause I'm a girl means I'm the weak link?!"

"Amy I've sparred with him a ton and have learned a lot. I'm telling you to be careful because he could disarm you. If you lose your hammer we won't stand much of a chance." Knuckles replied, the subtle compliment calming Amy down.

"Oh, I see. Do you have a plan Tails?" She asked.

"I do, but Zulu has already anticipated it I'm sure."

"Hey, we are the out of the box thinkers aren't we?" Amy smiled. "We have to do something he won't expect."

"What do you have in mind Amy?" Tails asked. Amy smiled. "Here's my plan…"

Zulu watched as they broke their huddle and smiled when he saw Amy draw her hammer and charge him with Knuckles, while Tails flew overhead. He wondered how they were going to act and hoped he had predicted them correctly. Knuckles immediately engaged him while Amy hung back, only stepping in to swing when Knuckles had Zulu tied up. Zulu smiled to himself, guessing that Knuckles had warned her about losing her hammer. Zulu quickly found an opening and delivered a hard kick to Knuckles' side, sending him flying. Amy immediately jumped in close, making small, controlled swings with her hammer. Zulu made a move to disarm her but Tails flew in and distracted him. Zulu had to now focus on dodging Tails' attacks that could come from any direction.

Zulu went onto the defensive, waiting for an opening to get rid of Amy's hammer. Amy made a hard swing and missed, Zulu taking advantage of the opening she had made and planted a knee into her stomach. He then ducked to the side as Tails swooped in for a kick and danced around his face. Zulu kicked Amy back and swung for Tails. Tails dodged to the side, and a red blur slammed into Zulu, delivering a brutal punch and flinging him back onto the ground.

"Yeah! It worked!" Knuckled exclaimed.

"Great one Knuckles!" The fox gave the echidna a high five.

"Zulu really doesn't hold back." Amy groaned, clutching her bruised stomach.

"Excellent thinking." Zulu said as he got up. "I had expected Amy to be the one to launch the surprise attack but taking advantage of Knuckles gliding abilities to close in fast for the right moment was very impressive." Zulu rubbed his jaw.

"Wait you knew?" Tails asked incredulously?

"I had anticipated three outcomes. One was a distraction surprise attack. I wasn't aware of how you would do it however. I've already thought about how I want our strike team to operate, and have written up training regimens for everyone. I'll have to modify yours a bit to include Knuckles for surprise attacks as well. A good teacher also learns from their students."

"If you have our roles figured out already then why the tests?" Knuckles asked.

"Because the only one I have experience with here is you Knuckles, so I had to see if maybe you guys could think of better roles for yourselves than what I chose for you. Even with my experience with you Knuckles you showed another way you can benefit the team. Here is your training regimen." Zulu handed a second packet to Tails. "Tails, I am also adding hand to hand combat to your regimen, so you will also be sparring one on one with me. As a matter of fact, let's begin your session now. Amy, Knuckles, spar with each other. Knuckles, I'm trusting you will be a good partner for her and give her any pointers that I have given you." Knuckles nodded and took Amy to another part of the clearing and they began fighting.

"All right Tails, let's turn you into a fighter." Zulu growled.

"Hey." A muffled growl came from the floor. Vanilla jumped and looked down at the rat. She, Silver, and Victor had taken turns watching the rat throughout the night. She was beyond tired but instantly felt awake now that he had spoken.

"Yes? How are you feeling?" She asked. She saw the confusion flicker across the rats red eyes as he glared at her and narrowed his eyes. He slowly raised his right arm and pointed at the gauze in his mouth. "Oh, well I'll remove it if you promise not to try killing yourself again." Vanilla replied. The rat did his best to nod and she carefully removed the gauze from his mouth. The rat slowly worked his jaw around and carefully licked his teeth.

"Water." He growled. Vanilla nodded and went to the sink, filling up a glass and kneeling down next to him. She gently helped the rat sit up and held out the glass only to tug it back when he reached for it.

"Hey, you're not planning to drown yourself are you?" She gave him a small smile to show she was just teasing when she noticed his eyes widen. Her smile fell right off her face and she set the glass up on the counter, realizing that was exactly what he was going to do.

Bilge cursed in his head. This stupid bitch had almost fallen for it. He glared at her, wondering why she cared. He was interrupted from his thoughts when a smaller bunny entered the kitchen. Bilge guessed by how similar they looked that the smaller bunny must be the daughter of the one helping him. He growled as she walked by him, earning a squeak in surprise as the bunny hurried over to her mother.

"It's alright sweety, he won't hurt you." The rabbit said. Bilge watched them curiously. The rabbit noticed his stare and smiled.

"This is my daughter Cream, I'm Vanilla by the way." She said. Bilge felt nauseated by how sickly sweet she was. "Say hello dear."

"Um…Hello." Cream said timidly. Bilge just growled and ignored her. He slowly licked his teeth again and decided that he had better drink the water. He could just escape later.

"Hey." He growled. "I'd like that water now, to drink." Vanilla gave him a hard look and he rolled his eyes. "Look you dumb broad, I promise I won't drown myself with it." He snarled. Vanilla sighed and grabbed the glass from the counter and held it out to him. Bilge reached up for it but his hand was shaking violently with exertion.

"Oh dear, here." She said softly. She gently held the glass up to his mouth and tipped it so he could drink. Bilge slowly gulped it down and Vanilla set the glass back onto the counter. "There we go, now that you are talking, I have a no swearing rule in my house. I would also appreciate it if you refrained from any rude behavior towards my daughter. If you do anything to her I will make sure you regret it." Her voice was strong and packed with authority. Bilge didn't really care, however.

"Whatever." Bilge growled. "Don't worry about your dumb daughter, and quit caring for me, I'm as good as dead anyways. Soon as you let me out of here G.U.N. will kill me. Someone could be hunting me right now."

"No!" Cream yelled. "Zulu would never let G.U.N. get to you, no one here will. We won't let G.U.N. hurt anyone else."

"I am with G.U.N., I'm the one who attacked your friends." Bilge growled. "I'm the one you're fighting, foolish girl."

"I don't care." Cream declared. "Zulu tried to tell me he was a bad guy too but I knew he was good deep down. You're the same way, no matter how nasty you act." Bilge was shocked at this girl's blind trust and naivety. How could she think he was good on the inside? Bilge snarled at her, but Cream didn't back down. "I'm going to be nice to you and you're going to like it!" She marched out of the kitchen, off to who knows where.

"Stupid little girl." Bilge growled.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 10**

 **Hey everyone! It's been a long time, sorry about that! Life has gotten pretty busy for me so my focus has been on some other things. I hope it hasn't affected this chapter to badly. Thank all of you who have read it this far and I hope you stay with me. This chapter brings up quite a few things that may confuse you guys, but I assure you it will be better explained as we go. Feel free to ask any questions or let me know via message or review what you like or don't like. I will reply to everything as soon as I can so don't think your opinion won't be considered! Also you'll notice I'm starting to use lines to organize what is going on and where better. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Thank you guys and girls so much for reading.**

Tails watched as Zulu walked over to a large bag he had brought along and started digging around inside of it. He removed a speaker that Tails immediately recognized was his, and set it close by, plugging in the small device that Zulu referred to as an iPod.

"Hey! That's mine!" Tails exclaimed.

"Yeah, and?" Zulu replied dismissively, giving Tails a carefree smile. "We need it for training, and yours doesn't need to be plugged in to work. Now, let's channel your inner warrior."

"You really like music don't you?" Tails commented. "You know, I'm not really a fighter, and I don't really want to fight."

"Tails, I'm well aware, but you will be vital to this team, and I will not have you flying around without being able to defend yourself. Fighting is simply a mindset, anyone is capable of it. This song will do. Now, shut your eyes and listen Tails. This song is called 'The Art of War' by a band called Sabaton." Zulu hit play and glanced over at Tails. The song played, Tails doing his best to focus on how it made him feel. The song played for a bit until it hit the chorus, which gave Tails a sudden dominant feeling.

" _I will run, they will hunt, me in vain_

 _I will hide, they'll be searching_

 _I'll regroup, feign retreat, they'll pursue_

 _Coup de grâce, I will win but never fight"_

Tails opened his eyes and gave Zulu a nod. Zulu went and paused the song, glancing over at Tails and seeing a familiar look in the fox's eyes. It was a look of aggression.

"I see you're ready Tails." Zulu nodded and stepped up to the small fox. "Now, let's begin. I need you to punch and kick me as hard as you can, no questions, just do it." Tails nodded and flew up to be eye level with Zulu before pulling back and slamming his fist into the side of Zulu's face, whipping his head to the side. Tails followed up by doing a backflip, bringing his foot up and kicking Zulu under the chin, knocking the big man back a few steps.

"How was that Zulu?" Tails asked, a bit surprised about how good that felt.

"I'm very impressed! Now, let me show you how you can use my body against me. You're punches and kicks are really good, so we can work on them later. Now, here is how you can easily take me down. I want you to wrap your legs around my neck, then twist with your hips and use your tail to accelerate your spin, you should end up flipping me onto my back."

"Woah! Alright I'll try." Tails hovered in front of Zulu's face and pinched the man's neck between his legs. Abruptly, Tails leaned back and twisted to the side with his torso, pulling his hips along and spinning his tails to speed up his twist. The result was violent, Zulu being yanked forward and down, doing a complete front flip, before landing flat on his back, hard.

"Uah!" Zulu grunted. He rolled onto his side and coughed a bit before slowly standing up.

"Are you ok Zulu? Sorry about that." Tails apologized.

"Damn kiddo! You got it, awesome! Now all we gotta do is train you to do that in more practical scenarios and you'll be set." Zulu gave Tails a smile and patted the fox on the head. Zulu worked with Tails for another hour before giving him a break and calling over Amy and Knuckles. He focused mostly on Amy, teaching her fundamental footwork and proper ways to wield her hammer.

"So Amy, you only use the hammer itself. You swing it around only to hit your opponents with the head of the hammer. You're missing out on many different ways you can use it." Zulu took the hammer from her. "Look here." He pulled the hammer back like he was about to swing it. "When you swing you leave yourself open. You're also a bit slow which is to be expected when wielding such a large weapon. So what to can do is this. Knuckles, dodge my attack." Knuckles stepped forward and prepared himself. Zulu brought back the hammer and as Knuckles tensed up to dodge Zulu suddenly jabbed forward with the pommel of the hammer, catching Knuckles off guard as it smashed onto the top of his head. Immediately, as Knuckles recoiled from the impact, Zulu swung the hammer, nailing Knuckles and knocking him back onto the ground.

"Oh wow!" Amy exclaimed. "I never really thought of doing that."

"You can jab and swipe with the pommel defensively or offensively, while always having the hammer cocked back, ready to strike." Zulu finished his lesson and gave her the hammer. "Your packet I gave you has guard stances and ways to swing continuously, using momentum and conserving energy, as well as more ways to utilize your handle and pommel."

"Amazing! Thanks Zulu!" Amy gave him a hug before hurrying off to practice more.

"Ugh, she was scary enough already." Knuckles groaned, staggering to his feet.

"You're telling me." Zulu chuckled. "She will become unstoppable, now, for you Knuckles." Zulu and Knuckles sparred for the rest of the day, Zulu offering pointers and teaching Knuckles counters and grappling. As evening came Zulu started a fire and they all gathered around it to eat dinner. Zulu congratulated everyone on their hard work and praised their individual improvements.

"Well guys, tomorrow is the last day we have so rest up and be ready, you guys have done well so far. Talk amongst yourselves and decide who is keeping watch tonight. I'm leaving you on your own tonight, be prepared for anything." He gave them all a nod and packed up some things before heading off into the woods.

* * *

Bilge had been moved to the couch for the night while Alan was put into a guest bedroom. Victor was sitting in his corner while Vanilla cleaned up the kitchen. Emily was visiting with Alan and Cream had gone to bed. Bilge wondered for the hundredth time that evening what was wrong with those rabbits. They had happily set the dinner table and gave him a spot beside Alan. What was more bizarre? The man didn't protest, or even look upset. Not even 24 hours ago he had shot Brystol and her stupid underlings. Yet this man seemed to have forgiven him. Bilge growled to himself, frustrated that his simple life had grown infinitely more complex.

' _Do they think they can change me? Do they really believe kindness and forgiveness fixes things. They are pathetic. I'm destined for Hell. I hate people, and love killing. They don't know what has been done to me. My only way of repentance is death. I can't deal with all this kindness I'm so undeserving of.'_ Bilge was becoming overwhelmed by his thoughts when a strange noise caught his attention. He perked up his ears and heard a strange clicking sound that was very faint. He twitched his ears and noticed the sound was coming from the front door.

His mind relaxed, finding something else to focus on. He wondered what was causing it and decided maybe he should notify the mountain in the corner about it.

"Hey." He growled.

"What?" The giant they called Victor replied gruffly.

"Are you deaf?" Bilge snarled. "You hear that?" Victor looked up and sat motionless for a moment.

"What…is that?" He asked.

"It's coming from the front door." Bilge replied. "Check it out, meat stack." Victor ignored the strange insult and walked over to the front door. Once he left the room the living room window slid open silently. Swiftly and without a sound a man climbed into the room while Bilge watched silently, knowing that if he tried to warn anyone it would only make the man move quicker to kill him. He heard the front door open as Victor probably was checking outside. Bilge lay casually on the couch as the man crept toward him.

Bilge wasn't in any shape to defend himself and for some reason he felt irritated that this could be how he died. The man silently slid a knife from a sheath on his belt and reached towards Bilge's neck. Bilge knew the protocol, assassins had to die during the mission. If they didn't they returned to base and were executed. If they weren't able to return someone was sent out to find and kill them. A new feeling of rage crept into Bilge's mind.

' _Like Hell this cowardly son of a bitch is going to kill me like this.'_ Bilge thought, waiting for the man to bring the knife closer before moving. He was weak, and knew that his only chance to be quick enough to grab the knife was when it was right on his neck.

"Goodness Victor it's getting really-Oh my God!" Vanilla entered the room and screamed, having felt the chill from the open window. The man with the knife immediately raised his arm up to throw the knife at her as Victor rushed into the room but was too far away to stop the throw.

"Vanilla!" Victor yelled as he ran forward, knowing he wouldn't make it in time. Suddenly, Bilge, seeing this as his opportunity, reached out with his arm and, with all the strength he could muster, delivered a hard chop to the back of the man's knee. The man staggered and dropped to one knee, giving Victor the time to tackle him before he could recover. The man dropped the knife as Victor pinned him to the ground. He slammed his elbow into the man's jaw and knocked him out as Emily came running into the room.

"What's going on?!" She asked urgently, glancing at the man on the ground.

"He was after our rat friend it seems." Victor replied. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"He was under the impression that I would just let him kill me, so he was in no rush. This is normal protocol, if I had spoken up, he wouldn't have wasted any time killing me." Bilge replied.

"Normal protocol?!" Victor asked.

"Yeah, meant to keep certain people's hands clean." Bilge growled dismissively.

"I see, and you were just going to let him kill you then?" Victor cocked an eyebrow. Vanilla and Emily exchanged looks of concern.

"Hell no. You think I'm going to die, helplessly laying on a couch?" Bilge snarled back.

"I'm just glad you're ok." Vanilla smiled. Emily gave a slow nod in agreement.

"Save it hippy." He spat, then glared at Emily. "And what the Hell are you happy about? Don't think I care about any of you."

"Why am I wasting my time caring then?" Emily muttered and stormed out of the room. Vanilla watched her leave and turned to Bilge with a hurt look in her eyes. She gave the rat a nod and went upstairs. Victor just shook his head and sighed, returning to his corner.

The next morning Bilge was gone. Victor had woken up to find the couch empty and the attacker from last night dead on the floor, his throat cut. Victor was finishing cleaning up the mess when Vanilla came down stairs.

"Good morning Victor, what are you doing?" She asked, watching him curiously as he scrubbed away at a red stain on the carpet.

"The rat killed the man from last night. He slit his throat." Victor replied.

"He what?!" Vanilla exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Gone, I woke up and he wasn't here. I'm sorry Vanilla." Victor looked up at her. "We tried our best. All we can do is hope he didn't return to G.U.N. and is out there finding himself." Vanilla stepped up to the window and stared outside.

"I hope he is ok." She mumbled.

"I think he will be fine. That attitude of his was reassuring to see, as rude as it was. He found his sense of pride." Victor gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and brought the cleaning supplies back to the kitchen. Victor went and informed Alan and Emily about Bilge's sudden departure, while Vanilla woke up Cream for school. Vanilla left to drop Cream off at school and go to work while Victor, Emily, and Alan stayed behind.

* * *

At Tails' place, Silver and Shadow were sparring with each other in the hangar when Sonic stopped them to share some news.

"Hey guys, Victor just called. The rat disappeared."

"Hmph, not surprised." Shadow responded dismissively.

"Well that sucks." Silver replied with a shrug.

"That's it? You guys don't care at all do you?" Sonic accused. "We should go look for him!"

"Save it Sonic. Some people need to save themselves." Shadow said.

"Besides, we gotta keep up the illusion that everyone is still around and not off doing secret training." Silver added. "If we all leave then the house will be empty, and G.U.N. will know something is up."

"I guess." Sonic sighed. "Well, I am enjoying pretending to be Tails." He smirked.

"What?" Shadow asked, utterly confused. Sonic sped off into the house and returned with two large, fluffy cat toys, which had been dyed to look like Tails' tails.

"See! I just hunch over and wear this on my butt so if anyone is watching they will think Tails is still here!" Sonic put on the tails and posed for them. Silver stared blankly at Sonic while Shadow slammed the palm of his hand into his face.

"Oh dear lord." Shadow muttered. "You were a faker before, but this?"

"Oh come on!" Sonic pouted. "I have other disguises for you guys. Be right back!" Before either could protest Sonic had disappeared and reappeared with a few random things. "Here Shadow, this is your Knuckles disguise." He gave the black hedgehog a large red sweatshirt with red tube socks sewn onto the hood and a large coat hanger. "Silver this is Rogue's disguise." Sonic handed Silver a red heart shaped piece of paper, an umbrella that had been cut in half, and Rogue's actual boots.

"Sonic, I've never felt more disappointed in you." Shadow growled. "If you think I will wear this, you better go get your brain checked." Silver remained silent, stuck wondering how Sonic had acquired Rogue's boots.

"It'll be fun though!" Sonic pressed, taking the disguise from Shadow. "Here is how you put it on." Sonic slipped the large sweatshirt over himself and pulled the hood up over his head. He then slid the coat hanger in behind his shoulders. "See! I'm Knuckles! The coat hanger gives me the big buff shoulders and the tube socks look like dreads!" Shadow and Silver both stared at him for a moment before exchanging glances with one another. Sonic looked genuinely proud of his disguise.

"Uh, Sonic." Silver finally spoke, Shadow still at a loss for words. "If Knuckles saw you right now he would kill you."

"Why is that?" Sonic replied, confused.

* * *

Bilge walked silently down the street, lost in thought with all the events that had happened since his mission. He didn't notice the glances that people gave him as he pondered over how he had been treated.

"Stupid deranged hippy rabbit." He growled to himself. "Stupid meat mountain. What do they know?" He continued walking, heading in no particular direction. Eventually he was walking out of the city. He stopped and looked back. "Fuck them all." He growled and continued walking, wanting to be as far away as possible.

* * *

That morning, Zulu began their training. He had told them the night before to stay vigilant and to be ready for anything, before leaving them on their own. Today was their final day and he knew he had to be ruthless. He had donned his tactical gear, jumpsuit and body armor, as well as his handgun, holstered on his right thigh. His knife was sheathed on his left thigh, positioned perfectly for a fluid draw and cut. He had just returned from preparing their training and watched as they changed shifts and got a feel for how each of them kept their guard. He noted that they were on a 2 hour cycle and planned to make his attack right after a shift change, or if whoever was the sentry let their guard down.

At around 1am he began making his way toward them. He had worked his way around to the opposite side of the large clearing they were training in and had gone prone. Slowly, using only his fingers and toes, he pushed himself up off the ground, so he didn't slide and make noise, and delicately inched his way along the ground towards them. Since they were far from the city, the light pollution wasn't illuminating the sky at all, meaning only the stars and moon were creating any light, effectively making it truly pitch black. He was a shadow in a shadow. Every time whoever was on guard glanced his way he would lower himself to the ground and wait. It was excruciatingly slow, but Zulu kept his patience. He began to feel strained but he pressed on, ignoring the gentle burning that was starting in his fingers and toes.

After four hours, Zulu had crept up to within ten feet of where they were sleeping. They had put out their fire before heading to bed to improve their night vision but Zulu knew even the best eyes couldn't see where they didn't think to look. They were much more wary of the surrounding forest then the open field, and as he crept ever closer a new idea hit him. He had originally planned to jump up and start attacking them without warning, but now he wondered how close he could get before being noticed. Slowly, he crept forward, carefully moving past Tails. He made his way toward Rogue, who was midway through her shift. She glanced back towards him, but he had lowered himself down beside the fire pit, using it to break up his shape. She took a hard look around once more before looking back out into the woods.

Carefully, he removed the knife from its sheath and crept toward her before rising up into a crouch. She heard the sound of fabric and started to turn around. Zulu quickly stepped forward and clamped his hand over her mouth, bringing his knife up to her neck and tapping her lightly with the blade. Her eyes were wide with surprise and shock. Zulu pointed to her and dragged his thumb across his neck, telling her she was dead, and held a finger up to his mouth. Rogue gave him a defeated nod and he released her. Then, one by one, he went to each one of them and woke them, informing them they were dead.

Zulu gave them until 6am to get ready before informing them of what he had planned for their final day. It was quiet as they packed up the campsite and did warm ups. Zulu could tell they were not too confident after their rude awakening that morning and lined them up to address them.

"So, does anyone have an idea about what happened last night?" Zulu asked them. His tone was firm but not condescending.

"You managed to sneak into our camp." Tails replied glumly. Zulu nodded.

"You're half right, I managed to sneak into your camp." He gave them all a glance. "I also killed all of you." He added. "This is not anyone's fault however. Rogue may have been on guard when I attacked, but I watched each one of you take your shift. It was a failure as a team. You know how I got into your camp? I crawled, on my fingers and toes, for four hours, from that side of the clearing over there, to here where you were camped." Zulu pointed over to where he had crawled into the clearing, about 60 yards away. "Let this be a lesson. There will be times when your opponent has multiple options about when and where to attack you. Sometimes, the choice that makes more sense, in this case approaching you from the woods, isn't the one they will go with, and you must be on your guard for anything. If any of you had really expected that I would crawl to you in the open, then you probably would have caught me or maybe been a bit more suspicious."

"I turned back to check the campsite just before you attacked me though." Rogue said. "I felt something a bit off, where were you?"

"Like I said." Zulu chuckled. "You didn't expect me to be in your campsite, so you didn't really look at your campsite. Your own logic told you that there was no way I'd be hiding in the middle of your campsite because you'd see me, so you didn't really scrutinize what was in front of you. I rested beside your fire pit to obscure myself as much as I could. You weren't looking for a shadow on the ground, you were looking for a tall man creeping up on you."

"How did you move without her hearing you though?" Blaze asked. "Rogue has some of the best ears, if not the best."

"Some of you are loud sleepers." Zulu looked pointedly at Knuckles. "I came from this direction so any noise I made would be masked by everyone's breathing or snoring. If I came from the woods, any noises I made would have stuck out. As to specifically how I did it, back where I'm from many techniques have been used over the span of time with which to move silently. There is apparently a method used by a group of people known as ninjas where they step onto their hands instead of the ground. My method was just simple patience really. Don't be discouraged. I use every little thing to my advantage. You must be able to see the things that don't really seem to matter and make them into a successful plan. Noise, positioning, timing, and routine are key elements to developing a plan."

"I see." Tails said thoughtfully. "So what is the plan for today?"

"Yeah, let's get to the fighting." Knuckles added eagerly.

"Today we are getting serious." Zulu said. "Last night, after you went to sleep I went off to Eggman's base, which isn't too far from here, and left him a little note." Zulu then removed Eggman's glasses from his bag and held them up for the animals to see. "The note pretty much said that I have these and he is to come here and get them back, and to bring as many robots as possible, because he will need them." Zulu smirked. "Nothing like a little jab at his ego to get him to bring the heat. Our objective is to survive and escape."

"That's it? You're final test is Eggman?" Knuckles asked.

"We beat Eggman all the time." Amy added.

"That may be, but I really pissed the man off." Zulu said. "He's not going to be the same as when you normally fight him. Your mental state of mind drastically affects how you will fight. He will be much more dangerous this time around."

"I see your point, but against all of us, and you, there is no chance for him to win." Tails replied.

"You guys are missing a vital piece." Zulu said seriously. "We are fighting robots."

"Yeah? What's your point?" Rogue asked. "We can handle robots easily."

"Exactly, you can, I can't." Zulu said. Tails eyes widened as he understood the problem.

"Guys, Zulu may be extremely strong, fast, and durable, but he isn't like us."

"The "softer tissues" of my body wouldn't hold up to beating up robots, and I doubt I'm able to really damage them as effectively as you guys. I'm going to need some better body armor when we get back Tails."

"So what are you going to do then, watch?" Blaze asked.

"I still have some ammo, and I can certainly distract them, but I'm not going to be offensively useful when I run out." Zulu shrugged. Suddenly, the perimeter of the clearing seemed to come alive with rustling and Eggman swooped over the trees and slowed to a hover above them.

"Which one of you…you…imbeciles did this?!" Eggman yelled, holding up Zulu's note in his hand.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be able to read it without these." Zulu teased, waving the glasses above his head.

"You! You did it!?" Eggman exclaimed, slamming his fist down onto the control panel of his hovercraft. "Get them! Kill them all!" He screamed, pointing a finger at the group. Robots began surging into the clearing. Zulu drew his handgun and cocked the slide.

"Let the final training begin." He muttered. Blaze and Rogue exchanged nods. Rogue grabbed Blaze and flew up into the air, where they began to rain down fire from the sky. Tails hovered up and went for Eggman while Amy, Knuckles, and Zulu stared down the wave of metal heading their way. Zulu opened fire, targeting joints like the shoulders and knees, his large caliber bullets punching through the weak spots and crippling the robots as they charged.

Amy and Knuckles braced themselves as the wall of steel got nearer. Amy raised her hammer and swung as the first robot came in range, smashing it back into the others. She kept her hammer moving however, fluidly transitioning into a second swing and taking out two more. She now understood what her packet had said about maintaining momentum and keeping her hammer moving. She felt like she was dancing. Knuckles was also beginning to enjoy himself. He felt like he was being much more efficient at fighting, using counters to block one robot and attack another, instead of just taking them down one at a time.

Zulu was in a bad way. He was out of ammo and was narrowly avoiding the metal arms and legs of the robots that had surrounded him, his size making it even harder. He did his best to keep them back, pushing and shoving them away with his feet, but slowly they closed in on him. He would occasionally glace up to see Rogue and Blaze strafe and rain down fire on the metal tide, the extreme heat of Blaze's inferno melting the inner electronics of the robots and disabling them. The sight reminded him of a napalm strike. Suddenly, a cry of rage caught his attention and he saw Tails forcibly eject Eggman from his hovercraft, using the technique he had taught the fox, and knew this was their moment to pull out.

"Tails!" Zulu barked. "On me, on me!" He yelled, rallying the fox to him. He kicked back a robot and held up his hand, Tails grabbing it as he swooped by and pulled Zulu up out of reach.

"Drop me on the hovercraft Tails." He ordered. "Amy, Knuckles, hovercraft now!" Tails dropped him onto the craft as Amy and Knuckles fought their way below it. Tails grabbed them both and hauled them up with considerable effort to the craft and dropped them in with Zulu. Tails joined them and took control of the craft, being the only one who knew how to operate it, and piloted it up into the sky.

"Get back here! You little…" Eggman's voice faded away as the group flew over the woods, joined by Rogue and Blaze.

"Great job guys! Well done!" Zulu said proudly.

"Wew! I'm exhausted." Knuckles sighed.

"You good Rogue?" Blaze asked, still being carried by Rogue.

"I'm good hun, I'll make it back." Rogue replied, fatigued but still determined to carry Blaze around until Zulu said training was over.

"That was much easier than you made it sound Zulu." Amy said with a smile.

"Well Tails did a great job of keeping Eggman preoccupied. That kept whatever weaponry this thing has off of us. Don't sell yourselves short though, it only seemed easy because of how well you guys complement each other as a team." Zulu replied. "You all have surpassed my expectations, but it only gets harder from here, so be ready at a moment's notice." They all gave him determined nods.

They discreetly parked Eggman's hovercraft in the hangar and were met with quite the sight. Sonic dashed out, or rather stumbled out, of the house wearing Rogue's boots, a paper heart on his chest, and a torn apart umbrella on his back. Following him was a very angry Shadow, dressed in a large red hoodie with what appeared to be fake dread locks on the hood, which he had over his head.

"Where did you hide my shoes you bastard!" Shadow yelled, fuming as he pursued Sonic into the hangar. He stopped upon seeing everyone gathered there. "Oh dear lord why now?" He grumbled. Sonic, momentarily forgetting what he was wearing, cheerfully greeted the group.

"Hey guys you're back! How was the training?" It was silent for a few seconds as everyone processed the sight before them. Before any questions could be asked, things got more confusing, as Silver entered the hangar, glancing down at the fake fox tails he was wearing and not noticing the group.

"Hey guys, these tails don't really blend well with me, I think I'd be more convincing as Rogue." He said.

"Oh would you now?" Blaze asked, getting his attention.

"B-Blaze? Y-You're b-back!" Silver stammered, turning red and pulling off the tails.

"Shadow, please don't tell me…" Knuckles sighed.

"It was the faker's idea!" Shadow retorted. "He decided copying me wasn't enough and made these stupid costumes for us. I'm only wearing this because he stole my shoes." There was an audible camera shutter noise and Rogue snickered, pocketing her phone.

"Oh this will be useful blackmail material." She smirked. "What do you think Amy?" Amy returned her glance with a smile and Sonic's cheerful demeanor dropped upon seeing the mischievous exchange. Shadow pulled off the hoodie and threw it aside.

"Whatever." He growled. "You guys are back so playtime is over. How did it go?" He directed his question at Zulu, who was trying his best to maintain a serious look on his face.

"It was successful. We now have quite the strike team. I am very confident with our current situation now. We have a team for long term engagements as well as a team for quick in-and-out assignments and disruption."

"Good, by the way, the rat disappeared." Shadow added.

"Alright, I'll head over to Vanilla's and see what happened, besides, it's about time I head out to get Cream from school." Zulu headed inside and called Victor, informing him briefly that the training went well and telling him to meet him at the school. He headed out, giving everyone a wave as he left. They were all bickering over Sonic's disguises and he couldn't help but smile.

He arrived at the school a little late, and saw Victor was already there with Cream. He gave Victor a wave while Cream sprinted over to him and leaped into his arms.

"My goodness." Zulu chuckled. "You'd think I was gone a month!" He hugged her in his arms and she kissed his cheek and giggled.

"It felt like it, so much happened! That rude rat called Uncle Victor names all the time, and was mean to momma!" Cream pouted.

"Called Uncle Victor and momma names huh?" Zulu said, emphasizing uncle and cocking an eyebrow at the big man, who looked surprised and shrugged dismissively, but Zulu caught a shred of pink on the man's face. "Well let's get you back home Cream."

As they walked back Zulu told Cream about the battle with Eggman earlier that morning. They arrived back at the house and Zulu checked in with Emily and Alan. Emily caught him up on all that had happened involving the rat and the attempted killing. Zulu was happy to see Alan was up and moving now and told him to watch over the house until he and Victor returned later on. He grabbed Victor and they departed, assuring Cream they would be back tonight.

"So where are we heading?" Victor asked.

"Over to Tails' place." Zulu replied. "I want to get a status update on the portal he's rigging up."

"Ah, why do I get the feeling there's more you're not saying?" Victor pressed. Zulu was quiet for a moment before replying.

"G.U.N. has a portal, which means they have been able to get to our dimension. We are aware they have, since they provided the combat drugs for our program. My worry is, have they visited in secret since then? If not, why not? If so, what are they doing on Earth?"

"Well sir, I think Jarving and Hitoshi left a lot unsaid. I would like to get their full explanations about everything involved with their portal testing, and the program we were in."

"Agreed, which means at least one of us, although I'd prefer both, will have to go back and figure out what is going on and why. I have a couple small theories, but there are plenty of unknowns."

"Hit me Zulu."

"Well, my first theory is that Jarving's CO wanted political leverage, and commissioned our program so he would have something to threaten others with. The portal discovery was just a coincidence and a deal was made for some combat drugs that were being developed. My other theory is that Jarving's CO is actually from G.U.N. and went to Earth in search of a way to create super soldiers. I'm missing a lot of key reasons and stuff but I think that the latter is true."

"Well, let's hope Tails can finish up that portal here soon." Victor stopped walking for a moment. "Hey Zulu, why don't we have a car?"

"What?" Zulu replied, caught off guard by the question.

"Sir, I do like hoofing it everywhere and all, but it would be much more efficient to get a vehicle." Zulu rubbed a hand along the stubble on his jaw as he thought about it. A car would help them blend in more.

"We have no money, and I'm not going to borrow any, so what do you suggest? Stealing one?" Zulu asked.

"Your future wife wouldn't be happy about that." Victor smirked. Zulu growled and made a rude gesture, causing Victor to laugh. "You're cute when you're annoyed." The big man teased. Zulu's eyes narrowed into slivers, giving Victor a glare that would make any lesser man back down. Victor crossed his arms and looked around at the different cars parked on the street. "Well I don't really want to steal one either, but there are a few cars around here, might as well look and see what they are like." Zulu gave a him a nod and they peeked into various car windows as they went, noting car brands and interior designs.

Zulu and Victor arrived at Tails' place arguing over their favorite brands, Victor having decided that a car manufacturer called "Guamo" was the most suitable for what they were looking for while Zulu believed "Mach" was the best option. They went inside heatedly debating their points about why they thought their choice was the best.

"Victor, Guamo models looked like plastic, fragile fishbowls. You couldn't conceal anything inside them and they would get totaled in a collision with an empty parking spot!" Zulu exclaimed. The outburst drew everyone's attention and the animals decided to stay silent and watch the two argue, highly amused at how animated they were being.

"Well pardon my big ass for needing room!" Victor shot back. "Visibility is what we need, as well as something cheap! Those Mach cars looked like lunch boxes on wheels! You'd need a sunroof and a periscope to see anything out of them!"

"At least we would be safe in a Mach! Honestly, our augmentations could hold up to more than those Guamos could!" Zulu cried. "Plus, Machs are compact, and much more sleek and attractive than those bulbous, cancerous tumors of the road!" Zulu paused for a moment and glared over at Victor. "You were a James May fan weren't you?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh really?" Victor retorted. "We are going there now?" Before they could argue any further, Tails emerged from his lab and entered the living room where everyone was gathered, watching the two grown men argue.

"Hey guys!" Tails greeted them. "Didn't know you were stopping by, what's going on out here?"

"Oh nothing, just a discussion of whether sensible refinement is better than vulgar brutality." Victor replied coolly. Tails glanced at the others who just shook their heads and shrugged. Zulu gave Victor another rude gesture and turned to Tails.

"Well, we came here to ask about how you're doing on that portal." Zulu said. "Also, I was reminded by seeing a certain coffin on wheels that I wanted to ask you about maybe fixing up Victor and I some better armor." Victor shot Zulu a glare.

"Well, progress for the portal is going slow so far, but that's to be expected. Once I figure out how it works it'll be a quick assembly process. As for armor, I've never made any before, but I can give it a shot."

"Awesome." Zulu said with a smile. "Thanks Tails. Alright, there's a little bunny that needs homework help so I'll see you guys tomorrow." Zulu and Victor departed as it was getting dark and had a uneventful walk back to Cream's house, save for a renewed dispute that started up again after passing a Guamo Ecta, which sported a massive dent in the front bumper.

"Must have been a gust of wind." Zulu commented.

"Oh for God's sake." Victor groaned.

They arrived back at Cream and Vanilla's, ceasing their argument as they stepped up to the door, not wanting to be scolded by Vanilla for any profanity slips. Before they went inside Zulu grabbed Victor's shoulder and gave him a wink. Victor gave him a sly nod and they silently went inside. Emily was at the dinner table with Cream, helping with homework, Alan was sitting in Victor's corner, and the smell of food wafted from the kitchen. Zulu held a finger up to his mouth and pointed at the kitchen. Cream giggled and kept quiet. Zulu crept over and slowly entered the kitchen. Emily watched him walk by, not exactly sure what he was doing and gave Victor a questioning look, eliciting only a smirk in reply.

Zulu focused hard. He calculated he was about ten feet from Vanilla. Her back was to him and she seemed unaware of his presence. Silently, he slowly began approaching her. He moved like a ghost, using all his training to keep his movement quiet. He stayed crouched so his shadow wouldn't alert her to him. He stepped up behind her, watching her ears for any sign she had heard him, but there wasn't a twitch. Crouching as he was, he was roughly her height and a sly smirk tugged at his mouth. Slowly he reached toward her and in a swift movement, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her too him.

The sound of a loud gasp and a squeal came from the kitchen, followed by laughing.

"Goodness Zulu! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Vanilla cried. Cream had her hands pressed over her mouth to keep from laughing while Victor did his best not to snort. There was another gasp. "Excuse me!" Vanilla cried again, sounding flustered. She emerged from the kitchen blushing hard and smoothing down the back of her dress. "You insufferable man!"

"That's me." Zulu snickered, walking out of the kitchen with a devilish look on his face. Emily glanced between the two looking confused and slightly concerned. Alan ignored the exchange, giving a slightly irritated sigh at all the noise. Cream was shaking with muffled laughter and Victor was grinning ear to ear as he watched the two.

"I'm disappointed, I thought you would be above such things." Vanilla scolded.

"Oh please." Zulu scoffed. "You enjoyed it." He replied. Vanilla blushed a deeper shade of red and Emily had a bit of color touch her face as well, having now gotten some idea about what was going on. Cream still laughed, innocently thinking this was still about Zulu sneaking up on her.

"Ok you two." Victor interrupted before it could escalate any further. "I'm hungry, so let's get some dinner going alright?" Zulu gave him a nod and headed back into the kitchen.

"I'll set the table, you guys wanna clear it off?" He asked, the sharp clattering of plates and the dull reverberating sounds of cabinets closing echoing from the kitchen.

"Sure." Victor replied, assisting Emily and Cream with moving her homework off the table. Vanilla cautiously followed Zulu into the kitchen, suspicious of what he would do to her next. She stood beside him and started getting the food ready to bring out to the dining room. Vanilla glanced up at Zulu nervously. After he had flipped up the back of her dress earlier she wasn't sure what he was up to. He noticed her look and smiled. It was a handsome, gentle smile that showed no hidden mischievous plots behind it. He turned and took the load of plates and silverware he was carrying to the dining room, whispering a comment only she could hear as he left the kitchen.

"Pink huh? Looks good on you." She turned around, beet red, ready to scold him, but he had left. She faced the counter again and let a small smile grace her face.

They all sat at the table eating stew and salad. Zulu, Alan, and Victor sat on one side of the table across from Vanilla, Emily, and Cream. Zulu and Victor were talking to Alan and asking him questions about what he did in G.U.N., as well as telling him what they had done. Alan told his full account of the Black Arms conflict, receiving much praise from the two men sitting on either side of him, as well as heartfelt sympathies from Vanilla and Emily, who had both heard about the subway station stand.

"So what about you two?" Alan asked. "I bet a couple of grizzled men like you have some good stories." He gave both Zulu and Victor an expectant look.

"Well, the thing is, we haven't even shared our stories with each other." Zulu replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. "If you wanna know though, I'll share with you." He gave Victor a nervous glance, knowing that this could go very badly. "So there was a war that started 16 or so years ago." He began, everyone's attention focused on him. "It was a worldwide conflict that lasted for 6 years, between two main factions across all countries." Zulu explained how the war started and how the Nationalists and Internationalists formed.

"So, essentially the Nationalists valued self-preservation, while Internationalists valued unity." Alan clarified.

"Pretty much, although, I'm sure you're well aware, it was a much more complicated situation than that." Zulu replied. He paused for a moment, knowing this next statement would make or break the mood at the table. He gave Victor a long look and could feel the tension coming from the big man and knew that everyone else could probably feel it as well. "Victor, I was an Internationalist." He said, tensing up. Alan instantly became aware of what might happen and scooted back from the table. Victor slowly turned to look and Zulu and his shoulders relaxed as he let out a sigh.

"I to, was an Internationalist." Victor gave Zulu a smile and a nod, but in his eyes, there was only sadness and shame. "I was away at college when the war started. I returned home to find out that Nationalists had killed my parents and both of my little sisters." He said solemnly. "I went mad, and throughout the war slaughtered many Nationalists, be they men, women, or children." Victor was visibly shaking now and stood up from his seat. "Please, excuse me." He headed for the front door and went outside.

"I'm sorry." Alan said, scooting his chair back up to the table. "I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't be sorry Alan." Zulu replied. "During that war many atrocities were committed, on both sides I'm sure. I was part of a small militia in a town that offered a safe haven for refugees and kept those in need safe from Nationalists. Our town was attacked many times and we had numerous stand offs with Nationalist groups. I became known as the "Siegebreaker" since I always killed whoever was the leader in a single shot and broke their morale. Killing is killing. No matter who you kill, it's still a life lost."

"But, killing women and children." Emily said quietly.

"You don't think he knows that?!" Zulu snapped, causing everyone to jump. "Did you see a man who was proud of what he did?!" He took a long deep breath and left the table, heading outside as well.

"How's Cream?" Emily asked gently, looking over at the little bunny who had crawled over into Vanilla's lap during Zulu's outburst.

"Sweetheart?" Vanilla said softly, stroking her daughter's hair. Cream looked up at her with big watery eyes and glanced at Emily and Alan.

"Uncle Victor and Zulu aren't bad right?" She asked, sounding on the verge of tears. "I don't want them to be bad."

"Cream." Alan started. "War is a terrible thing. It is full of trauma, suffering, and pain to all those involved. War can make even the greatest of men do the worst things. I'm sure both Zulu and Victor have told you that they have done bad things. In my opinion I'm a bit relieved that killing is their only crime. There are much worse things you can do to people than kill them. You'll understand in time what I mean."

"They haven't changed from the men you know Cream." Vanilla said. "That was the past, and you know as well as I that they are good at heart." Emily nodded in agreement. Cream smiled and hopped down from Vanilla's lap and went to the front door where she quietly slipped outside.

Victor was sitting on the front steps of the house with his head in his hands. Zulu stood beside him quietly. He had given his teammate a pat on the shoulder when he had stepped outside to let him know he was there and waited silently for the big man to compose himself. Suddenly Zulu heard the door open quietly and peeked over his shoulder to see Cream slip outside. Slowly, Cream walked over to where Victor was sitting and tugged on his arm. Victor didn't respond, so Cream wormed her way into his lap.

"Uncle Victor?" She asked softly. Zulu watched with a smile, knowing not even Victor could hold up against Cream's adorable, caring, innocent nature. There was an audible sigh from Victor as he dropped his arms down to his sides and finally acknowledged the bunny before him.

"Yes Cream?" He responded, his voice hollow and sad.

"I'm sorry about your family." She said quietly. "I would have loved to meet your sisters." She continued. "You're my uncle now, and you always will be. My uncle isn't bad at all, if he was then momma wouldn't let him be my uncle." She finished and did her best to hug the big man.

"Cream…I…thank you." Victor shakily replied and gently engulfed Cream in a hug. Zulu noticed silvery streaks appear on Victor's face and he took his leave, heading back inside. He stepped into the dining room and was met with curious eyes.

"Vanilla, you sure have quite the amazing daughter." He smiled. Emily stepped up to him and bowed her head slightly.

"I'm sorry for showing my doubt earlier. I know both of you are good men." She said. Zulu put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it, I know you don't know us too well." He replied.

"You're right, but I know Cream adores both of you, and you have the respect of everyone here, so there's no reason for me to doubt either of you."

"I appreciate it." Zulu gave her a nod and looked over at Alan, who gave him an informal salute. He returned the gesture and walked over to the couch, passing by Vanilla and giving her a smile. She watched him lay down on the couch and could tell he was upset about what had happened, even though he hid it well. The front door opened as Victor entered the house with Cream perched on his shoulder. He gently set her down and gave everyone a rare smile. Cream ran over and leapt onto the couch, nuzzling up to Zulu and yawning.

"Looks like it's time for bed Cream." Vanilla said, taking notice of Cream's drooping eyelids. Zulu slowly sat up and cradled her in his right arm as he made his way up to her room. Vanilla followed them up as Alan and Emily made their way to the guest bedroom they were staying in. Victor took his place in the corner and nodded off.

Zulu gently tucked Cream into bed after finishing a fairy tale. He gave her a smile and got up off the bed when she stopped him.

"Hey Zulu?" She asked. Her voice was an adorable, sleepy mumble.

"Yes?" He replied softly.

"Will you be my daddy? I want you to be my daddy." He was taken off guard and felt blood rush to his face.

"You want me to be your dad?" He asked. His heart was racing with joy, excitement, and fear. Was he really worthy of such a role? Could he really be a good father?

"I've never wanted anything more in my life than a daddy and you're the one I want." She mumbled again. Zulu felt his eyes burn and his vision blurred up.

"There is no daughter I'd rather have than you Cream." He replied, leaning down and kissing her tenderly on the forehead. "Sweet dreams my baby girl." He walked over to the door where Vanilla was waiting, tears shining on her cheeks. He shut off the lights and quietly closed the door before looking down at Vanilla. He knelt down and wiped the tears from her face. Vanilla embraced him tightly, neither spoke a word, for there was nothing to say.

* * *

Erik paced back and forth outside of an interrogation room at Raeger's Tokyo HQ with Niko and a couple of his operatives. He had been interrogating Hitoshi since they had stormed his lab in the aftermath of an E.M.P. and taken everyone there into custody. Due to the circumstances, Niko had been briefed about what was going on and was now aware of the portal's significance. The portal had been seized and moved to Niko's building where the team that had investigated the first portal was now getting it up and running.

"I don't think he is going to talk." Erik said, finally sitting at the table in the room and looking at Hitoshi through the one-way mirror. He grabbed a mug of coffee and took a long sip. Niko nodded his head to his operatives, excusing them from the room, before responding.

"I agree, but it's not like we really need him too." Niko replied. "We have the portal, a team that can get it working, and all of Hitoshi's research. He isn't needed."

"Mine and Raeger's thoughts exactly." Erik responded. He stood up and went to the door leading to the room Hitoshi was in. Niko watched with a blank expression as Erik stepped into the room and drew his handgun. Hitoshi raised his arms and started to protest but Erik raised the gun in a quick movement and fired a bullet into Hitoshi's head. Blood splattered onto the back wall and Hitoshi's body slumped out of the chair and onto the floor. Erik sighed and holstered his gun as he re-entered the room Niko was sitting in.

"Raeger wants it all under wraps. I'm sure you know what to do." Erik said, sitting back down at the table. Niko got up and headed to the door. He opened it and let his two operatives back inside. He motioned to the interrogation room.

"One of you, clean that up, the other can go give Hitoshi's team the same treatment." Both men nodded and left the room, one returning shortly after with a body bag. Niko and Erik left the room and walked down the hall to Niko's office, where they could discuss their next strategy. They entered the office and sat at Niko's desk. Niko dialed a number on his phone and set it to speaker.

"Yes?" A gruff voice answered.

"It's Niko and Erik." Niko replied. "We got nothing from Hitoshi and his team, so they have been eliminated."

"We are wondering which course of action you'd like to proceed with." Erik said.

"When Hitoshi first used the portal, his guinea pig said that the place he had transported to also had a portal, correct?" Raeger asked. Niko quickly typed on his keyboard and pulled up Hitoshi's portal research files.

"Correct." Niko answered, quickly scanning through the reports. "They seemed to be a military establishment and had a portal of their own."

"Anything on Jarving's boss?" Raeger asked. Niko searched through the files for a bit before replying.

"None, seems Jarving's CO made sure to have Hitoshi keep everything involving him off the record." Niko finally replied.

"Hmph, no matter." Raeger growled. "Alright, for now keep working on that portal development. We need to be able to transport more than one man at a time. Keep this quiet, understand?"

"Yes sir!" Niko and Erik replied.

* * *

Raeger hung up the phone and sighed with anticipation. A whole other realm, unknown to everyone but him and a few of his most trusted men. The possibilities were endless with how he could manipulate this situation. To get where he wanted he would have to instigate a war. He already had the means for it. He was aware now that Jarving's CO was actually from the other dimension. He had personally investigated the man and while he had crafted quite a background for himself, there were definite holes, holes only someone who was suspicious would be able to pick up on.

Raeger's plan was to go to the council and share Hitoshi's account of the dimension they had discovered. He would modify it of course so it would seem like the meeting had resulted badly. Then he would say that they sent someone over here to spy on them and start developing augmented super soldiers to try and overthrow the I.A. and send over a massive army via portal. With this the council would have to let him take charge since he would have all the information. His problem was that Jarving and his team were still alive to counter him and point out all of his lies if he showed his hand. His other problem was that two of those super soldiers were alive and in the other dimension. They could easily come forward with the truth and organize negotiations.

Raeger pondered over all these developments and problems and sighed. This power grab had become so complicated. Originally he had wanted to implicate Jarving and his CO of trying to start a private army. He would have gained favor in the council as well as getting access to Jarving's research program to make his own super soldiers.

"Ugh." He groaned to himself. He had to at least eliminate Jarving and his team before he made a move. Then he could go to the council with his fake warning about an incoming invasion from another dimension without being called out. He settled with that for now and grabbed his phone.

"Raeger." An arrogant voice answered. "It's rare thing when you call."

"Well, in these times it's unfortunate that your services are rarely needed." Raeger replied. "I need your expertise." The voice on the other end chuckled grimly.

"Who do you want dead?"

"His name is Jarving, I'll send you the information. I want him and his team gone."

"Consider them dead." The call ended abruptly. Raeger smirked to himself and hung up the phone.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 11**

 **Well it has certainly been awhile! This chapter, wew, so much to figure out. I don't plan things out or think to far ahead for the most part. I make it up as I type. I do it that way because, to me, I feel like the characters are guiding themselves through the story and I'm just nudging them along. This chapter took forever and those of you who have been dying for more, sorry I kept you waiting. I hope you enjoy! This get's pretty deep so if it's hard to follow I apologize. Also if you don't know, my profile has character information for anyone wanting to learn more about my OC's that isn't in the story.**

"So he has gone off the grid?" Kinley asked.

"Yes sir, we had one of the Batch 3 prototypes track him out of the city. The rat is as good as dead." His informant replied.

"Excellent. You know what to do when the prototype returns." Kinley chuckled. He was relieved that finally this troublesome rogue rat would be erased. He hadn't expected that when he had given the rat his orders he would go AWOL. He had even personally gone down to meet the Batch 2 remnant at that parking lot to gage whether he would succeed or not.

"Yes sir. By the way, the Brystol incident has been cleaned up completely. We tracked down the last survivors of her group and eliminated them. We have seized all her information as well."

"Good, everything is going according to my plans." Kinley replied. "Any word from our man on the other side?"

"None sir."

"Then it is safe to assume he has been found out and either taken prisoner or killed. No matter, all he had to do was use their technology to research an effective augmentation method, and now we have two prime specimens of his program results running around. We still need to capture them and dissect them, but that will come in due time." Kinley replied. It had all started for him when he had been researching a method for covertly sending agents into dangerous areas without them wasting time sneaking behind enemy lines.

After many months and countless tests they had developed a prototype portal, and the person he sent through was one of his trusted subordinates, a man named Rosco. Rosco had been fitted with a special bracelet which had been developed with the same technology that went into the portal, but only was able to convey sound waves, since it's small size meant it lacked the power to transport anything solid. With it, even if something went awry, he could still communicate back to Kinley to inform him of what happened. He went through the portal and called back immediately, saying he had no idea where he was. After an hour or so he called again, saying he wasn't even on their planet, but a different one entirely. Over time Rosco, who had discovered that the place he had transported to had just ended a huge war, infiltrated the government, since the aftermath of said war had left any kind of documentation meaningless, due to the circumstances of the war.

Rosco became a high ranking official in the new government, thanks to coaching from Kinley. Rosco told Kinley how the government functioned, which was similar to G.U.N. in some ways, and Kinley told Rosco how to manipulate it. Rosco was surprised by the technology that this world had, and that war was the only thing keeping everything progressive. Rosco worked his way to a high military standing in a country called the United States of America, since Kinley liked that the country only spent money on its military. Rosco now had a near limitless budget, and due to the way the global government worked, access to any project that anyone was working on.

Rosco kept Kinley up to date on all projects and programs submitted to the council, as well as looking into any past proposals. Kinley ordered him to fund both the super soldier program as well as the portal program. Kinley told Rosco that they could easily manipulate that world and even conquer it, given all the insider information they had, as well as having access to technology these people didn't have. Rosco liked the thought, and was eager to speed up their progress. This led to him dumping a ton of money into both programs, which caught someone's attention. Raeger, also a higher up in the United States, grew suspicious when he noticed that one man had spent almost 1% of the military budget.

Raeger discreetly looked into where the money went and saw that this man was secretly funding two programs, one that was out of the country, and the other which was recently disapproved by the council. Seeing an opportunity for gaining influence in the council, as well as hoping to take over the super soldier program, Raeger settled for monitoring what the man did. Raeger held off for a while before deciding on assassination. He had monitored the man's movements and realized he wasn't very active in the projects he was funding, so Raeger saw an opportunity to cut a huge chunk of work out of his plans. If he could kill the man, he could probably take over his projects and no one would notice, saving him the trouble of reporting the projects to the council.

Raeger decided on that course, figuring that if he presented the council with a working portal, he would gain plenty of respect and favor. He then got word that the man was flying to Japan to check out his portal program's progress. Raeger got in touch with some people and they agreed to sabotage the flight back. Rosco had his meeting with the portal research team and tested the portal. Rosco subtly gave the team hints about how to calibrate the portal so it would have the best chance of sending a volunteer through to the other portal while secretly coordinating with Kinley about his progress. Kinley was pleased with the super soldier progress. Having them on the enemy side of the portal would be a major advantage in the upcoming conflict. After that, Kinley didn't hear from Rosco again, and he was totally unaware that someone was soon to be onto his plans.

Raeger had hijacked the portal shipment and posed as Jarving's CO, who had been Rosco. He didn't tell Jarving about the portal shipment, figuring that Hitoshi would have no reason to contact Jarving to confirm the delivery. They did a few tests with the portal, going so far as to send a micro-camera through it. What they discovered completely changed Raeger's plans. The camera, only the size of a pencil eraser, went through the portal and only survived for a few seconds before the EMP from the portal fried it. Still, its few seconds of life were all they needed. The camera had appeared on a rooftop and overlooked a city that was obviously not on Earth.

Raeger got a bad feeling about where all this was leading and decided to just erase all of this from existence, hoping to destroy the portal and eliminate Jarving and his super soldier program. However, things didn't go well, and he had to keep adapting his plans again and again. His original ambitions returned when he got an idea about starting a conflict and using his inside information to appear to be the man who had all the answers. The council would have to defer to him and after the war, he may even be given control over the new world. His mind, like Kinley's, was fueled by a hunger for conquest and influence, like humans of old when they carved out vast empires for themselves to rule over.

* * *

"Alright gents, we got a job to do. Seems the same guy who had us sabotage the plane in Tokyo wants us to do something else for him."

"What's he got for us this time V?"

"I'm glad you asked J." V replied. "It seems that the man we killed in the plane "accident" was running quite an operation, and now we have to clean up his research team." V stooped down over a beat up, dirty table he and his team were gathered around. V had summoned them all to their small place of operations in Okayama, Japan. V had made Okayama his home after the war, finding peace in the Koraku-en garden. Its name, meaning "later pleasures", resonated with him, and he would visit the park before every job. He lived in a small house, which he used as his headquarters, near the Okayama Civic Hall.

"I suppose that all we got is names and locations?" J asked.

"That is how we operate." V responded. "Guy's name is Jarving. He is hiding out in Seattle, which is in L's territory." V gave L a nod. L resided in Kansas, a state which was pretty much in the dead center of the United States. Each man of the team lived in a separate country, strategically placed around the world so that they had a man in the right areas for work. It was their job to learn their territories inside out so that if a job was in their area, they would be fit to lead the operation.

"Alright, I guess this ties in with all the crazy shit that has been happening in Seattle recently." L chuckled.

"Care to fill us in?" W asked. Each member of the team ignored everything outside their respective territories since that would be useless information to them, thus they were very unaware of anything going on with the rest of the world. W was in charge of Africa and Madagascar.

"It's a long story you don't need to hear W." L replied. "Hey V, where are B and K?"

"They couldn't make it." V answered. "It's just us four." Each member was pretty much independent, getting to choose whether or not to participate in a job. V was the leader, but it was mainly just a title given to him because he was the best organizer. He arranged the meetings, but no one technically had to come. If they didn't come they just didn't get to participate in the job and make money.

"We can make it work." J said. "So L, what is the plan?"

* * *

Bilge walked through a dense forest. It had been maybe a day since he left the city and he had been purposely wandering aimlessly through the woods. He finally felt somewhat peaceful. His thoughts had finally calmed down and his awareness had slowly become accustomed to the sounds of nature. His heightened senses made the effect even more impactful. They also helped warn him that he wasn't alone.

Bilge felt the hairs on his neck begin to stand on end as he walked. Trusting his animal instincts, he quickly tuned out all irrelevant noise and listened to the woods. He stopped moving, listening. Bilge heard the birds' chirps of warning to each other as their wings took them away. Then he heard it. His ears twitched as he faintly heard the metallic sound of a bolt on a sniper rifle. Suddenly, he leapt to the right and rolled behind a tree. As he rolled, the loud bark from a rifle echoed through the woods. Bilge gritted his teeth in pain as he pressed his left hand to his right side. He felt blood oozing out between his fingers and let out a low growl. With his right hand he slid his knife from its sheath and listened. His assailant had foregone any stealth as they quickly approached. Bilge slowly stepped out from behind the tree as his hunter got close.

Bilge quickly examined his opponent as they stared each other down. They had sent a tall man, bristling with muscle, after him. He had a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder, a handgun holstered on his hip, and a combat knife sheathed in the vest he wore.

"Your aim is shit." Bilge growled.

"Idle banter won't help you." The man replied. His voice carried no emotion.

"It would sure do you some good." Bilge snarled. He didn't let the man reply, lunging forward with his knife raised. The man dropped the rifle and drew his sidearm as well as his knife. Bilge flew toward the man, his nimble, quick agility not letting the man get a good bead on him. As Bilge got close he jumped up and drop-kicked the man square in the chest, staggering him back. He landed on all fours and pushed himself up, spinning his leg up and around, and kicked the gun aside. His knife immediately followed the kick but was blocked and deflected. The man slammed his left knee into Bilge's head and swung down with the butt of his gun. Bilge ducked under the bunt and slid his knife behind the man's right knee, pulling the knife back and ramming his shoulder into the man, knocking him onto his back.

The man tried to bring his gun over to aim at Bilge, but the rat was too fast, scrambling up onto the man's chest, pressing his knife to the man's throat and violently ripping it to the side. Panting, Bilge crawled off the dead man's chest and checked his side. The bullet had passed cleanly through, but still left quite a mess. Bilge took what he could from the dead man and used his shirt as a bandage. As long as he could stop the bleeding his body would heal fine.

"Guess I have to go back now." He growled to himself. "Last thing I need is more fucktards coming after me." He put on the man's vest, carefully sliding it over his makeshift bandage, and slid the handgun he took into the holster he had strapped to himself. Finally he scooped up the sniper rifle and pulled the bolt back, smirking at the golden glint of a shell casing, waiting patiently in the barrel to be fired. He gave the dead man one last look as he racked the bolt forward with a metal clack.

"If this is all they have to send after me, this will be easy." He slung the rifle over his shoulder and began walking the way he had come from, his keen sense of direction guiding him back to the city.

* * *

V led the way off the plane followed by L, W, and J. It had been a long uneventful flight to SeaTac airport and they were ready to get started. None of them had any carry-on luggage. They headed to the baggage retrieval and picked up their gear, which was hidden inside various instrument cases. V was a nostalgic, and carried an authentic violin case used by gangsters of old to disguise their guns. His case contained a broken down tommy gun. L, J, and W followed his lead with the instrument cases, but weren't as time honoring. L carried a tuba case, loaded with different types of grenades, twin Glock 18's, and an M4-16. J carried a trombone case with a top secret, prototype sniper rifle he had gotten as payment from a past client. W was a minimalist, and never used the same weapons twice. He carried a beat up old trumpet case which contained a trumpet. He never transported his weapons, preferring to buy a couple dirt cheap guns locally and dump them when he completed his job.

They used a bus service that L had arranged a week prior when he had departed for Japan. L had booked himself at a hotel in the city with room for the other three, and after the bus dropped them off at its park-and-ride, they took L's car there. After checking in, they got settled into their room and began checking their gear and weapons. V set up his laptop and opened up the info Raeger had sent regarding Jarving.

"Alright guys, I got the info on our target. L, you're in charge now. You know the area and what has been happening better than we do." V gave L a nod and offered his seat to him. L sat down and took a few minutes to look over the information.

"The I.A. complex is about a half hour away. Jarving is most likely laying low there. We should have no problems. From what I know there was a massive explosion that was covered up here recently, and the I.A. has been investigating." L explained.

"All we care about is what is required to kill him." W groaned. He hated debriefs and just wanted to get the job done.

"Look dumbass." L growled. "This is highly relevant. The I.A. has been cracking down here recently, which means that we are going to have to be that much more subtle about this. I know for a fact that a couple weeks ago they were pretty much grabbing anyone they saw off the street and interrogating them. So shut your god damn mouth and quit bitching, this is not the time or place we want to do a rush job, understand?" W stood up grumbling and left the room.

"Wew!" J smirked. "You fucking chewed his ass out like a piece of raw steak."

"I get his focus on the job but he's so fucking narrow minded it pisses me off." L said, taking a deep breath. "He thinks that anything not relating to how we are going to do the job is irrelevant. Well Seattle has been a hot spot of activity lately and it is under major scrutiny, so we can't disregard anything as being irrelevant." He continued.

"I agree." V said. "From what you've said, even so much as getting caught speeding here could result in a lot more trouble than it usually would incur."

"Precisely, let's unpack and drive around a bit so we can see what is happening around here." L finished, closing the laptop. J and V followed him out of the room. They found W in the lobby and piled into L's car, beginning their long drive to scout out the city.

* * *

"We are way too exposed, this is suicide Victor!" Zulu yelled.

"We have a clear line of sight!" Victor retorted.

"I'm keeping my head down, we could be fired upon at any moment."

"Sir you're being dramatic." Victor chuckled as he drove their newly bought Guamo Ecta towards Cream's school. "I have a full 360 degree view so no one can ambush us, this car drives like a quality golf cart, and it was cheap!"

"I thought we were not going to borrow money and find jobs instead." Zulu growled.

"Ok Mr. Concealment, how do you take an eight foot tall man and blend him in as a waiter, hmm?" Victor asked sarcastically.

"Give me lip again and you'll be running home, shit head."

"Pff, trying to pull rank on me?" Victor shoved his middle finger into Zulu's face and laughed. "Sir, your future wife has more authority than you do."

"You sexist son of a bitch!" Zulu exclaimed.

"How is that sexist?"

"That is a typical stereotype of a woman! Positive or negative, gender roles are sexist!"

"Since when have you cared about sexism?" Victor asked, struggling not to laugh.

"Since just now you prick!" Zulu turned and gave Victor a hard glare before both men burst out laughing. "Ah, but seriously." Zulu chuckled. "This car is complete trash."

"Oh shut the fuck up." Victor laughed.

"Hey watch your god damn mouth, that's Cream's fucking school right there so no swearing!" Victor glanced over with amazement as Zulu held a deadly serious face after such a ridiculous statement.

"Zulu, sometimes you make me feel like a white girl who can't even "even"." At that comment, both men lost it and were still laughing hysterically when Cream climbed into the backseat of the car.

"Hey Daddy! Hi Uncle Victor! What are you two laughing about?" She asked, her sweet, innocent voice quelling their laughter momentarily.

"Cream, your uncle is a sexist pig." Zulu laughed.

"Cream, your father is a complete moron." Victor chuckled.

"You guys are silly!" Cream giggled. Victor pulled the car away from the curb and drove to Cream's house. They spent the short ride asking Cream about what she liked and disliked about the car.

"Ha! Cream loves it!" Victor declared triumphantly as they entered the house. Zulu however, remained silent. Cream scurried inside and hopped up onto a seat at the dinner table. Victor went for his corner seat when Zulu grabbed his shoulder. Victor gave him a questioning look, wondering if Zulu was pouting about the car. Zulu held up his arm and Victor's eyes widened as he noticed Zulu's hairs were raised.

Zulu gave him a nod and moved his finger in a circular motion, silently telling Victor to check the house. Victor glided like a ghost out of the room and Zulu noticed Cream was watching him. He held a finger to his lips and approached her, placing himself between her and the entryway to the dinning room. Zulu felt her clutch onto his shirt and reached back to give her a gentle squeeze. Zulu listened hard, barely making out Victor as he made his way around upstairs silently.

"Daddy, where are Alan and Emily?" Cream asked timidly.

"That's what I'm worried about Cream." Zulu replied.

* * *

Kinley walked down the hall flanked by two of his subordinates. He'd been leading a G.U.N. meeting discussing what actions to take regarding the two men from the portals when he'd gotten a call from one of his men saying that they had captured two people of interest. He was slightly irritated, having not issued any orders for this particular course of action, and had all but dismissed the idea of these two people having any importance. He stepped into a room with a one way mirror that looked into an interrogation room. There were two chairs in the interrogation room, occupied by a male and a female, next to a stainless steel table in the center of the room.

"Ok what's all this about?" Kinley growled. "I don't remember giving any authorization to go out and capture people."

"Sir, we were incorrect when we said we had tracked down and eliminated everyone who was with Brystol's group. Remember Alan?" The man smirked. "With all the Brystol excitement, he was temporarily forgotten about."

"Oh yes, so why is he here alive?"

"Guess where we found him?"

"Do I need to have someone torture you for answers as well?"

"Ok, we tracked him down to the house we know those super soldiers hang around at, the girl was there too when we broke in." The man replied.

"That is very interesting. They put up a fight?"

"None sir, we know what Alan is capable of, and operated appropriately."

"Good." Kinley replied. "We have leverage now. Our only problem is Sonic and his group."

"Well I have good news sir, Batch 3 is ready."

* * *

Bilge sloshed his way through the sewers. He felt a strange familiar feeling as he went, and couldn't quite comprehend how he knew where he was going. He had decided to use the sewers to get into the city unnoticed. He was heading for a manhole which was a block away from the building he had been dispatched from for his mission to wipe out the people in that parking garage. As he walked he planned out his strategy, and half an hour later he arrived at the ladder leading up to his exit with a plan in mind. He climbed up the greasy ladder and listened. There were sounds of cars, but they were a ways away. He guessed he must be in a side street or alleyway and with little effort, eased up the cover to peek around. He was in an industrial loading/unloading area for trucks, which was currently empty. He climbed out of the hole, careful not to bump the barrel of the rifle into the cover, and slid the cover back into place before taking a hard look around.

He quickly picked out his target building, the reason why he chose this exit. It was an older building, and quite tall, with fire escapes leading up to the top floor. He wasn't aware what the building was for, but all he cared about was the vantage point he would get from the roof. He quickly darted off and snuck his way to the building. Once there, he glanced up at the ladder, which was around 15 feet above his head. He lifted his foot and pressed it to the wall of the building and pressed down, sliding his foot down the wall. Satisfied with the resistance he got, he stepped back a few paces, then bounded forward. Right as he was about to hit the wall he leaped up, planted his foot, and pushed himself out and away from the wall. His upward momentum from his initial jump was just enough for him to catch the bottom rung of the ladder.

Smirking to himself at the thought that giving him augmentations was the biggest mistake anyone could have ever made, he pulled himself up the ladder and made his way up the fire escape stairs. Once on the roof he looked out over the surrounding area and located his target. True to his estimates, the building was roughly a block away, with the industrial load/unload area being the only thing between him and the building. The roof he was on had a 3 foot high lip running around its perimeter, presumably so you couldn't easily fall off. Bilge rested the rifle on the lip and peeked through the scope.

The building was nondescript, and looked very unassuming. It was a sleek black with black windows like a typical business building. It stood 5 stories tall, only a couple stories taller than the building he was currently on. He could make out nothing through the opaque black windows and growled in frustration.

"So much for that. Dammit." He muttered to himself. "Well I guess it is to be expected from a coward."

Bilge thought about how to best recon the building, given that the only way to have any idea about it was to go inside. He wasn't trained for tech stuff, so hacking the system was out. Bilge weighed the option of barging in versus sneaking in. Sneaking in was the obvious choice, but going with the predictable strategy wasn't always a good pick. He then scoured the building's exterior through the rifle's scope and noticed something which made his objective much harder. There were no security cameras outside at all, meaning they were all inside and placed by the windows facing outwards.

"Son of a bitch." Bilge sighed. He glanced around the bottom of the building and then he saw it, his way in. There was a driveway that went down under the building, an underground parking lot.

* * *

"G.U.N. must be responsible for this." Shadow growled.

"Must be the same ones who sent that rat to Brystol's hideout." Rouge added.

"Well if he hadn't taken off we could ask him!" Amy exclaimed in frustration.

"Let's calm down guys." Tails said calmly. "There aren't any signs of a fight here, which means they had to be taken alive right? Rouge and I can hack into G.U.N. and find out who is responsible."

"Doubt it'll be that easy." Shadow said.

"Hey, every little bit helps." Sonic replied confidently. "I'm sure you two will find something, then we can go kick some butt!"

"I'm all for that!" Knuckles agreed, slamming his fists together.

"You guys have been quiet, what are you thinking?" Silver inquired, glancing over at Victor and Zulu.

"This is getting very sensitive." Zulu replied. "There are a lot of politics going on here, too much that doesn't make sense. G.U.N. knows full well by now that we are involved with you guys, and you're regarded as heroes. Rogue, Shadow, I need to know how G.U.N. operates."

"Well, they are the global organization for law enforcement and military." Rogue said.

"It receives orders from the President of the United Federation, but operates at the sole discretion of a man only known as the Commander." Shadow added. "I think I know what you're getting at. If the Commander was involved, G.U.N. could perform operations secretly that aren't approved of by the President."

"You don't think…" Blaze started.

"From what you just told me, I think it's safe to assume that whoever we are up against in G.U.N. is involved with the Commander." Zulu said grimly. "A lot of stuff that's happened has been completely covered up from the public's eye, hence why there's nothing about the Brystol incident on the news. Now if the person we are up against wasn't involved with the Commander, there is no way they could operate this freely with G.U.N. personnel without getting caught. Hell, even if the President got suspicious and pressed the Commander on what was happening, he could easily cover it up with any number of excuses."

"I don't get it." Sonic said. "The Commander is our ally, why do this? We've cooperated in the past."

"Sonic, power is very corruptive." Victor replied. "We are talking about an organization that governs the entire world. They also govern themselves. Think of it this way. A police officer breaks into a house while the owners are at work and steals something. The owners come home and report the break in. The entire police force knows the officer did it. Now, since they are the only ones who can enforce the rules and investigate crime, they can completely ignore the fact that the office did it, because no one can do anything to them."

"Now Sonic, replace that small police force with a giant organization that has a range of authority from giving people speeding tickets to waging global war, add in the political sway they must have with the President, and you can see how easy it would be to go from good to bad, not to mention that people within the organization would sure covet the Commander's position." Zulu concluded.

"The way things have developed, it's pretty clear this has gone past justifiable means." Shadow agreed. "At the start I would have said the Commander was worried about the possible threat you could pose. Now though, it's safe to say that this isn't normal."

"I don't think the Commander we knew is in charge anymore." Rogue muttered.

"Ok let's slow down for a second." Silver said. "So, at some point recently someone has taken the role of Commander. Now, how recently we don't know, but what we do know is that they are now using any means to bait us out."

"Hold on." Blaze interrupted. "We should go back farther. We know for a fact G.U.N. made the combat drugs found in Zulu, so there was some sort of communication between G.U.N. and where Zulu and Victor came from before they got here."

"So what?" Knuckles asked.

"My point is that their amazing discovery that there is another whole separate dimension was never made public." Blaze continued, slightly irritated by Knuckles cutting in. "Our dimension's existence is public knowledge since G.U.N. wasn't involved with our portal activity, and didn't try to hide it when they found out since they knew Sonic was involved. When Zulu appeared though, they did not try to collaborate with us at all, instead sending Shadow and Rogue out to track him down. They have hidden everything from the public, even with Sonic's involvement."

"From this we have to conclude that they are involved with what's happening in some way and don't want any evidence that they were involved to come up later on." Silver said, crossing his arms. "They have something big planned involving Zulu and Victor's dimension."

"So if that's true, then what I theorized to Victor would make sense." Zulu said. "I had a theory that the man who secretly backed Jarving was actually from G.U.N. and used a portal to get to our dimension. Somehow he and the Commander must have coordinated with each other to arrange a meeting for the transfer of the drugs."

"We are missing a lot of why's still." Victor pointed out.

"Why don't we go to the President?" Sonic asked. "We have his trust, and he could turn things around for us."

"Yeah! We should have done that a while ago!" Amy eagerly agreed. Zulu shook his head.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy. First off, the Commander would likely not let us anywhere near the President. Second, even if we somehow managed to get to the President, we would put him and many others in the Commander's crosshairs. I'm sure he has quite a few men in the President's detail on a payroll."

"Also remember Brystol." Shadow added. "She was leading a secret group of people who investigated G.U.N. internal corruption. She was probably aware of all this, and doing her best at prolonging the Commander's plans until she could get something to pin on him. She was probably unaware of who the Commander was, thus not able to make any moves."

"Without her in G.U.N. as our insider, there is no one who can prevent anymore nefarious internal activities." Victor growled.

"I think it's about time Rogue and I began hacking." Tails said excitedly. Rogue gave him a nod.

"We can't do anything until we know where to go, so leave it to us to find out." Rogue said, addressing the group. She and Tails departed, heading to his house where he had the proper tools and software.

"Ok guys." Zulu said, getting everyone's attention. "Victor and I have something important to tell you."

* * *

It was dark as Bilge lay prone behind a car a couple hundred feet from the underground garage entrance. He slowly began crawling, inching himself along, hugging the curb. It was dark enough that as long as he stayed by the curb and moved slow, he wouldn't be seen.

' _If those cameras have an infrared setting I'm fucked.'_ He thought to himself. He continued sliding himself along until he approached his first obstacle, a street light. Carefully Bilge slid his way out into the dark street and made his way around the radius of illumination. Given the layout of where he guessed the cameras were, this was his only way to approach with the least chance of detection.

Sliding himself back up to the curb he carried on until he reached the sloped driveway to the garage, which was also brightly illuminated by two large lights in the upper corners of the garage opening. Bilge assumed that there were also two cameras in the same places as the lights.

' _Ugh why am I doing this? I should just march in and gut them all.'_ Bilge thought, quickly losing patience. He had no idea how he was supposed to get by this. After a while of thinking he growled, threw caution to the wind, stood up and bolted for the garage.

* * *

"Ach!" A guard choked and began coughing on his food.

"What Rich?" His buddy asked.

"Did you see that?" Rich said as he frantically typed on the keyboard in front of him to back up the camera feed. Rich hit play and they watched as a dark blur flew into the garage area.

"What the hell was that?!"

"I have no idea, go get a security team Larry." Rich replied. Larry quickly left and assembled a team of 6 armed men to go investigate. They took an elevator down to the garage and spread out to search.

"Eyes on me?" Larry asked.

" _I see you Larry, not sure where our friend is hiding though."_ Rich replied over Larry's earpiece.

"Damn. Hey! Check behind those two trucks over there!" Larry ordered, pointing at two large black cargo trucks at the end of the garage. The garage was a 30 meter by 30 meter square with 4 rows for parking, one row against the wall where the driveway was, two rows in the middle facing each other, and a final row against the back wall. The elevator was in the center of the back wall. The two trucks in question were to the left of the elevator in the front corner. There was a single camera watching the front of the elevator where Larry was standing. Larry supervised and kept Rich up to date as the men searched the garage.

"Over here is clear!" One armed man called out from the back corner to the right of the elevator. He had been checking where three cars were parked. The six men had split up, three to the left and three to the right, one taking the rear wall of the garage and two taking the front.

"Right side clear!" The other two men on the right side called, regrouping with the third and making their way to Larry.

"How's the left?!" Larry barked. He glanced over at the man checking the back corner.

"All clear here, how about you guys?!" He replied and called out to his teammates who had been checking the trucks. There was no response.

"You three, back him up, check that corner!" Larry ordered. "Rich, we may have a problem, possibly two men down." He slowly drew the handgun he carried on his hip and cocked the slide.

"Shit!" One of them screamed, followed by multiple cries of pain as gunshots erupted.

"Single hostile! It's a-" Whoever was calling out was silenced and the gunfire abruptly stopped. Larry desperately hopped back into the elevator.

"Rich, holy shit, they are all down, one hostile!" He urgently jabbed the door close button. As the doors slid shut Larry saw a large black rat appear and grab the doors, forcing them back open.

" _Larry what's going on?!"_

" _Larry can you hear me?!"_

" _Larry!"_

* * *

Alarms began blaring throughout the building. Kinley, who was with his three personal bodyguards and one of his scientists looking over Batch 3 before sending them off, looked up with annoyance.

"What the hell is going on?!" He yelled. Three of his men ran into the room.

"Sir! Security says we have a single intruder who got in through the garage! Not sure who it is, all he saw was a black blur on the cameras, possibly seven men already down!" One of them stated urgently.

"What?!" Kinley barked. "Get men to the elevators, now! Whenever those doors open, fill whoever it is with lead!"

"Sir!" The men ran out and Kinley turned back to the scientist.

"We have to hurry it up, let's send them off to that fox boys place!" Kinley ordered. The scientist typed in some commands into a console that was hooked up to four cylindrical capsules full of blue liquid. Inside each tube was a person with a dozen or so tubes running from them to the capsule. Slowly the blue liquid began emptying out and one by one the people inside began to gain consciousness. Kinley gestured with his hand for the scientist to hurry up, so he entered another command and the capsules slid open.

The first one out of their capsule was a tall man with a sculpted muscular body. He was at least a head and a half taller than Kinley, who was not a short man. The next two were a woman and a man, both physical specimens. The woman was slender, equal height with Kinley, and was rippling with muscle. The man was a head shorter than Kinley, but was extremely broad shouldered and barrel chested. The last to climb out was a man who immediately made a slight shiver go up Kinley's spine. He was around the same build and height as the first man, but was very pale.

"My four horsemen" Kinley said in awe. They all stood in front of him with blank expressions on their faces, having been administered combat drugs before being let out. Kinley let his eyes wander over the woman's body, since they were all naked. Suddenly, far off in the building, the crackle and rumble of gunfire began, bringing him back to the situation at hand.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat. "You have been trained for this moment, and all your gear is ready." He gestured behind him to four large green cases. "Inside is your equipment, tailored to each of you. Each of you also will receive a small GPS device which will guide you quickly to your target. When you get there, skin them all alive, gut them, torture them, I don't care, I just want no further problems from them." There was no response. The four stepped up to the cases, grabbed their respective one, and marched out of the room to gear up. "Alright, status on the intruder?" Kinley asked one of his personal guards.

"Floor one, no response from the team who was guarding the elevator there. Other units on that floor are on the lookout. Seems our intruder is forcing us to either go through them to leave the building, or retreat to the roof." The man replied.

"It must be Bilge, shit." Kinley rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Get our two hostages and get to the roof! Let the men handle him, we are leaving."

"Yes sir!" He responded. He rushed out of the room leaving Kinley and his other two guards.

"Alright! You two with me, call in a helicopter." Kinley said, leaving the room followed closely by his two men, one using his earpiece to call for a chopper.

* * *

Bilge kicked open a door and ducked inside as bullets peppered the doorway. He hit the eject button on his handgun, dropping the magazine to the ground and sliding in a full one. He cocked the gun and quickly peeked around the doorway to look down the hall. He immediately ducked back as bullets tore into the wall. He mentally noted how many hostiles there were and where they were positioned before deciding his killing order. He took a breath and leapt into the hallway. Everything slowed as adrenaline flooded his system. He fired twice before hitting the ground, killing two in the front who were crouched. He rolled through his landing and fired again, maintaining his focus as bullets flew by him.

Bilge quickly fired three more shots, killing the remaining three. He felt burning and checked himself, finding two grazes on his left arm and one on his right thigh. He ignored the wounds and crept down the hall, keeping his pistol trained on the corner. When he got to the corner he did a quick check and found himself in the clear. He holstered his sidearm and relieved the men of their ammo and any weapons he would need. He decided on a shotgun and a small submachine gun. He also found one of the men's vests had a few metal plates, and he slid them into his vest.

Shouldering the shotgun he pressed on, finding the stairs and heading up to the second floor. As he rounded the stairs up to the second floor landing he slid back behind the tall solid railing as bullets rained down from above. He crouched, switched the shotgun from his right to his left, and pivoted out of cover, firing the shotgun at one of the four men on the landing. The one he was aiming at grunted and collapsed, clutching his chest. Bilge spun back into cover and smirked.

' _Slugs huh? Perfect.'_ He thought. He repeated his strategy, pivoting out, firing, then ducking back into cover. When he killed the last man he reloaded and crept up the stairs. When he reached the landing he switched back to his right hand and looked around.

"Uhhhh…" A groan came from behind him. He spun, leveling the shotgun on the source of the noise. It was the man he had first shot. His body armor had taken the impact of the slug and knocked the air out of him, as well as most likely breaking some ribs. "Please…don't…" He coughed. Bilge sneered at how pathetic this was, and set down the shotgun. The man's look of relief turned to horror as Bilge grabbed him by the hair, pulled his head up, drew his knife, and pressed the tip of it under his chin before stabbing the knife up into his head, killing him instantly.

* * *

The helicopter noise slowly became apparent in the distance as Kinley, his three guards, and their hostages, Alan and Emily, waited on the roof. Four armed men stood at the roof entryway, overlooking the stairs.

"Well you two, just think of this as a minor delay to your interrogation." Kinley said, addressing Alan and Emily. "Don't try anything funny or I'll toss you out of the chopper."

"What's even going on?" Alan asked. "Chickening out because Sonic and his friends are here screwing up your plans?"

"Haha! Please." Kinley replied arrogantly. "Sonic and his team aren't here. Speaking of them, they won't be coming to save you after tonight."

"What? What do you mean?!" Emily asked, a sour feeling of dread filling her stomach.

"Oh nothing." Kinley smirked, loving the look of despair on the young woman's face. Her hair began billowing in the wind as the helicopter closed in, slowing to a stop and hovering over the building, beginning it's decent to the roof. Suddenly, barely audible over the noise of the chopper, gunfire sounded from the stairs. Everyone looked over to see the muzzle flashes and heard the staccato sound of an automatic weapon as bursts of fire sprayed over the railing, dropping the four men guarding the stairs in quick succession.

"Dammit!" Kinley screamed, a hint of fear in his voice. The helicopter's landing struts were level with Kinley's head and he turned and climbed up into the chopper, not waiting for it to land. "Two of you, grab them, one of you hold him off!"

"Him?" Alan yelled, trying to be heard over the rotor noise. Suddenly a shadow with blood red eyes appeared by the stairs. Alan and Emily watched as the guard who was ordered to "hold him off" fired at shadow but it vanished, moving behind an air vent. Abruptly it lunged out from behind the vent and charged the man while he was reloading, the glint of a knife appearing. In no time the red eyed shadow reached the man. He swung the butt of his gun at its head, but missed. The shadow kicked the man's knee and grabbed his rifle as he collapsed.

The two men holding Alan and Emily raised their rifles but couldn't fire in time as two well placed bullets slammed into their heads, crumpling them to the ground. Kinley cursed and slammed the helicopter door shut, signaling for the driver to take off. Alan and Emily watched the chopper fly up and away before turning to see the two blood red eyes staring at them from a safe distance. Slowly the figure stepped forward so they could make out who it was.

"Holy shit!" Alan exclaimed. "It's you!"

"The rat?! You came to save us?!" Emily asked in disbelief.

"Don't flatter yourselves, I only came here for that man who just left in the chopper. I didn't know you two were here." The rat growled as he crossed his arms.

"Regardless, you saved us. Thank you." Emily said sincerely. The rat didn't reply as he stepped forward and cut the zip-ties that bound Alan and Emily's wrists. He sheathed the knife, turned, and began walking away.

"Wait, our friends are in trouble." Alan said. The rat ignored him.

"That man said something very concerning, please rat, we could use the help." Emily pleaded. The rat stopped and sighed in frustration.

"The name's Bilge. Follow me, I need to check something before we leave." He growled and continued walking, although at a slightly faster pace.

"Bilge the Rat huh?" Alan said, testing the name.

"Don't wear it out." Bilge shot back. He led them back inside and headed for an armory he had passed by on the 3rd floor earlier. When they reached the room he stopped in front of the door. "Alan, stock up on what you need here then meet me in the parking garage."

"Where you off too?" Alan asked. Bilge was a bit surprised that there wasn't any suspicion in his voice.

"I'll explain later, no time right now." He said dismissively and hurried down the hall. Alan watched the rat walk away and turned his attention to Emily.

"What's on your mind?" He asked her, seeing the thoughtful look on her face.

"He's changed." She said simply.

"Well I wouldn't give him too much credit." Alan chuckled. "Certainly though, effort is being made. Now, let's get some gear."

Bilge headed down to the second floor and looked for the lab. When he was here for briefing and dispatch he remembered a lab where they were working on the third batch.

' _If I'm right, because of Brystol's watchful eye, he moved all the research and development for the assassin program here from the main G.U.N. research and development labs at the headquarters after my batch was finished, so she couldn't possibly tamper with his final product.'_ He thought as he searched for the lab room. Finally he located the lab and went inside to find four empty capsules that were similar to what he remembered crawling out of. When he entered there was a gasp and he turned his attention to the source, drawing his knife.

There, hunched over a computer, was a scientist that he recognized. That was the man who had did this to him. That was the man who tortured him and put him through hell.

' _I can't let him live. He has to die or this sick program will never end. How many people has he fucked with and broken? It's his fault I can't be normal ever again. I will make him suffer.'_

"Well well, look who it is." Bilge snarled, slowly approaching the man and twirling the knife expertly around in his hand.

"Y-you?!" He whimpered. "You're s-supposed to b-be dead." Bilge sneered.

"I'm aware, I already dealt with one of my successors, and I think you're going to tell me where the other's went, along with answering a few other questions of mine." The scientist saw a malicious glint in the rat's blood red eyes and turned to run.

"What was that?" Alan asked, pausing in the hallway. A loud scream had echoed down the hallway from their right.

"Could it have been Bilge?" Emily asked.

"Doubt it, but I'd bet he was involved with it. Let's go." Alan hurried down the hall, the added weight of the bag and rifle he was carrying doing nothing to slow him down. Emily, also with a bag, lugged it behind her as she chased after him. After a few minutes they located the room where the scream came from. They rushed into what appeared to be a lab and for Emily, the sight was gruesome and disturbing. Bilge stood beside a desk that was covered in blood. A man hung from the desk by his right arm, which was stuck in place by a knife, which had been stabbed through the hand and into the desk. His left leg was bent at a 45 degree angle in the wrong direction and his left hand was missing every finger nail.

"Oh my god…" Emily muttered, clamping both hands over her mouth and turning away, nausea overcoming her. Alan opened his mouth to speak but he froze, seeing the look on Bilge's face which was full of anguish and rage. He took a quick glance around the lab, seeing the empty capsules and got an idea about what the situation was.

"He's the one, isn't he?" Alan more stated than asked, stepping up to the rat. "He did all this to you." Bilge responded by baring his teeth, not taking his eyes off the body. Alan glanced back at Emily, who had her back to them, unable to handle the sight.

"Four of my successors were sent to kill your friends." Bilge said, suddenly coming out of his trance. "He purged the system here of everything relating to Batch 3 and most likely sent off the research to wherever that chopper was going." He glanced over at Emily and shook his head. "No time to stand around, I'll fill you in on the way."

They hurried down to the garage, no one speaking a word. They loaded up a truck and climbed inside, Alan behind the wheel, Emily in the middle, and Bilge next to the passenger door. Alan pulled out of the garage and sped down the street.

"Head for the fox's house, but first take a left into this alley." Bilge ordered. "I have a weapon stash on the roof." Alan braked hard and spun the wheel, causing the tires to squeal as the truck barely made the turn into the alleyway. Bilge jumped out and scurried up the fire escape ladder and stairs. Only a few moments later a loud thud came from the roof of the truck causing Emily to jump. Alan saw Bilge hop to the ground in the mirror and climb back inside with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Where did that come from?" Alan asked as he floored the truck and got them back onto the street.

"They sent someone after me who tracked me down in the forest outside the city. I killed him and took it." Bilge replied casually.

"So that is why you returned. You wanted to stop them from sending people after you." Emily responded.

"Can't live in peace while being hunted." Bilge growled. Alan watched Bilge from the corner of his eye as the rat answered and saw there was much more to his reasoning than that. He kept quiet however, now wasn't the time for deep talks and morals.

"So Bilge, what are we going up against?" He asked.

"From what little I got from the scientist, my batch, the second batch, was a throwaway, mainly for testing augmentations. My batch had five subjects, four humans and myself. Only I and another man survived the augmentation process. After my batch, there was a prototype for batch 3, which was sent after me. They were supposed to collect the results and analyze the prototype when he returned, but they had a breakthrough, and were able to finish batch 3."

"A breakthrough?" Alan asked.

"He didn't say, as much as I pressured him." Bilge replied, causing Emily to shiver. "He wouldn't give me any details, just that they were superior to me and they would definitely succeed with killing your friends. I wasn't able to discover where the man in charge fled to in the chopper or if there was to be more batches made." Bilge clenched his fists.

"What we can assume then is that there are four correct? Unless the four capsules were for something else?"

"No, there are only four, you are correct." Bilge answered. "They were the same type of capsules I came out of."

"So four augmented assassins like you, alright. Emily, I want you to stay in this truck when we get there. We don't know what the situation will be when we arrive."

"Actually Alan, it would be best to drop you off before we get there." Bilge suggested. "During my briefing for assassinating Brystol, I was told there was a possibility I would encounter you and given a quick rundown of your capabilities. Your expertise as a sniper would be best used from out in the woods away from the house."

"I did pick up some communication earpieces. I can scope it out from a good vantage point and guide you in." Alan said.

"Sounds good." Bilge growled.

* * *

A defiant, zip-tied Tails looked up at the giant man that stood in front of him. The man's expression was blank and emotionless, despite the fact that his nose was broken and bleeding. Behind the man, a shorter man and a woman were dragging Zulu and Victor into a corner. Both were unconscious and bleeding from a number of wounds. Amy was seated to the left of Tails, zip-tied and gagged. Her hammer was still across the room on the floor where she had dropped it after being disarmed. Shadow lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious, having been attacked by a tall pale man, who was now downstairs in Tails' basement.

Silver was blindfolded and gagged, zip-tied against a separate wall to the right of Tails, next to Blaze who was wearing fireproof gloves and was handcuffed instead of zip-tied. Sonic lay on his stomach next to Tails, his hands cuffed behind his back to his feet. Rogue and Knuckles were seated against the left wall underneath the living room window, both cuffed and unconscious.

"You won't get away with this." Tails struggled to say. He'd taken a harsh beating during the sudden attack and still hadn't gotten his breath back.

"Already have." The man in front of him replied with the barest hint of a smirk. As Tails was about to reply his words caught in his throat as the pale man stepped into the room, having finished checking the basement. He had piercing black eyes, sharply contrasted by his white skin.

"No one else hiding here, time to begin." The pale man said, his voice surprisingly normal sounding. This caught the attention of the shorter man and the woman who were cuffing and securing Zulu and Victor. They both stepped over to the tall man in front of Tails and they all drew knives. Amy's eyes widened and she began squirming and making muffled squeals. Sonic gritted his teeth.

"So what is your plan?" He asked.

"Our orders are to skin, gut, and torture you." The pale man replied, gesturing with his knife towards the group. Tails gulped, struggling to hide his fear. "Secure the black one." He continued, having noticed Shadow, still unconscious in the middle of the room. Then, as the shorter man knelt beside Shadow to cuff him, chaos erupted as a gunshot was heard from outside.

The living room window shattered and the pale man's head exploded, his lifeless body dropping to the floor. The second the window broke the front door burst open as a black rat leapt inside and opened fire with a gun, unloading lead into the chest of the large man who fell back onto Tails. The shorter man and the woman dropped to the floor for cover from the shooter outside, but had no cover from the rat in the hallway. They both drew handguns and the man fired at the hallway corner to suppress the rat as the woman crawled forward. Tails kicked the man's body off of him and watched as the rat tried to peek around the corner. It was then that Tails recognized the rat was the assassin who killed Brystol.

The rat ducked back just as a bullet hit the wall and Tails wondered why he wasn't shooting them. He glanced over and saw that Rogue and Knuckles were propped up unconscious against the wall behind the man and the woman.

' _He's not shooting because he might hit Rogue and Knuckles.'_ Tails realized. He thought hard, wondering if there was anything he could do when the rat rolled out of cover. He made his move while the man was reloading and caught the woman off guard, spraying lead into her face. The rat had waited for her to creep up far enough so he could shoot her without risking a stray bullet hitting Rogue or Knuckles. The man finished reloading in a flash and began shooting the rat. The rat dropped his empty gun and was knocked back as the bullets hammered into his chest, falling flat onto his back. The man stood up carefully and hunched over a bit so he didn't reveal himself through the window. Tails watched him approach the rat as the rat raised his head to look at him.

Tails saw his mouth moving but couldn't make out any words. The man kept his gun trained on the rat as he stepped forward when suddenly the left wall exploded, a large hole appearing a couple feet above Rogue and Knuckles' heads. The short man's back exploded with blood as he was flung forward onto the floor. The rat wasted no time jumping up with a knife, pulling up the man's head by the hair, and stabbing the knife into his head from under the chin.

"Emily, all clear, bring them in. Alan, nice shooting." The rat rasped. Tails was at a loss for words, along with everyone else who wasn't unconscious. It was suddenly extremely quiet, save for the black rat's heavy, labored breathing. Suddenly Emily, Vanilla, and Cream rushed in through the front door.

"Oh my god!" Emily gasped. "Is everyone ok?!"

"Tails." Vanilla said with authority, breaking through his shock. "Who needs medical attention?" Despite her worry, Vanilla was all business.

"Shadow, Zulu, and Victor got the worst of it." He responded shakily. "Rogue, Knuckles, and Silver also got beat pretty bad. The rest of us I think are ok."

"Momma!" Cream yelled. She was knelt beside Zulu and Victor who were both still unconscious and bleeding badly. Vanilla hurried over and began doing a rough assessment of their injuries. Alan ran inside and began cutting off everyone's zip-ties. It was when Alan was searching the dead men for the handcuff keys that Tails noticed the rat had disappeared.

"Alan-" He started.

"It can wait Tails, I know you have a lot of questions, as do I, but those can wait." Alan said. He gave the fox a reassuring smile. "Let's make sure everyone is ok before we discuss tonight's events." Tails gave him a nod.

"You're right."

"Tails!" Vanilla yelled. "I need a table!"

"I have a couple in the basement! Sonic, Alan, can I have a hand getting them up the stairs?"

"Don't even ask." Alan replied. The three hurried down the stairs and brought up a few tables. Vanilla, with the help of Alan and Sonic, lifted, Victor, Zulu, and Shadow carefully onto each of the three tables.

"Shadow has minor cuts and bruises but severe internal trauma. Zulu and Victor share similar injuries including severe cuts to their joints and head trauma." Vanilla diagnosed. "I'm going to stop Zulu and Victor's bleeding first before moving to treat Shadow."

As Vanilla treated Shadow, Victor, and Zulu, with the help of Cream, everyone else sat quietly, waiting for those still knocked out to regain consciousness. There were so many questions, yet, as Alan had said, everything should be discussed and explained when everyone was awake so no one would be left out, so everyone stayed silent. Amy, Tails, and Blaze had taken to cleaning up the house as best they could while Sonic paced back and forth, frustration evident on his face. Emily was tending to Silver and keeping an eye on Rogue and Knuckles in case they woke up.

"So this is where you disappeared to." Alan said, stepping outside. "You know you should get that looked at."

"Like hell I'm submitting myself to that crazy hippie rabbit and her annoying daughter again." Bilge grimaced in reply, getting a chuckle from Alan.

"You and your attitude." He sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. You know, at first I thought you just were playing a tough guy."

"Tch. Like I give a shit what anyone thinks of me." Bilge snapped back.

"I saw the look on your face when you were staring at that scientist." Alan stated firmly. Bilge growled and crossed his arms, turning away from him. "Look, I'm not saying I understand you completely, but I can read people well, and that look said a lot. Deep down you have good morals, and you know what is right and wrong, but they fucked you up didn't they, and this is all you know how to do now." Bilge's arms dropped to his sides and he clenched his fists.

"You know." He snarled. "I can't remember anything before the program. I don't know how I ended up there, or who I was before the program, or even if I had family. They wiped away everything, and programmed me to be this way. I don't know what I've lost."

"Well Bilge, I hope you stick with us." Alan replied. "I know you can't help it, wanting to be a lone wolf and isolate yourself, but back at that place where you rescued Emily and I, she told me you've changed. I was a bit skeptical of course but when I saw that look on your face, I knew she was right."

"Save the sappy shit for someone who gives a fuck." Bilge growled. Alan laughed out loud.

"That won't work on me anymore haha! I know what you're really saying, and you're welcome. Let's get inside and see if we can patch you up." Alan's tone was friendly and inviting. Bilge used all his willpower to turn and follow the man back inside, refusing to let his manipulated mind ruin this possible opportunity of acceptance.


End file.
